Association of Cortactin and Fascin-1 Expression in Gastric Adenocarcinoma: Correlation With Clinicopathological Parameters

Wen-Chiuan Tsai ¹, Jong-Shiaw Jin ¹, Wei-Kuo Chang ¹, De-Chuan Chan ¹, Ming-Kung Yeh ¹, Shiou-Chih Cherng ¹, Li-Fan Lin ¹, Lai-Fa Sheu ¹ and You-Chen Chao ^1*

¹ Department of Pathology (W-CT,J-SJ,L-FS), Division of Hepatogastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine (W-KC,Y-CC), Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery (D-CC), Department of Clinical Pharmacology (M-KY), and Department of Nuclear Medicine (S-CC,L-FL), Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ab95057{at}hotmail.com.

Submitted on March 13, 2007
Accepted on 8 May 2007

	Abstract

Cortactin and fascin-1 are important factors in tumor progression. We tested the hypothesis that cortactin and fascin-1 expression correlate with clinicopathological parameters of gastric adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis of cortactin and fascin-1 were done using tissue microarrays of 100 surgical specimens, including 20 well differentiated, 20 moderately differentiated, and 60 poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinomas. Among the 20 well differentiated gastric adenocarcinomas, 15 cases (75%) showed negative or weak staining (1+); 5 cases (25%) had moderate (2+) or strong (3+) cortactin expression. Among the 60 poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinomas, more than three-quarters of the cases (76.7%) had moderate or strong cortactin expression; 14 cases (23.3%) had weak staining. Fourteen of 20 well differentiated gastric adenocarcinoma cases (70%) showed negative or weak staining of fascin-1, while nearly one-third (30%) had moderate or strong expression. Among the 60 poorly differentiated gastric adenocarcinomas, 32 (53.3%) exhibited moderate or strong fascin-1 expression; fewer than half of the cases showed negative or weak staining. Higher intensity of cortactin and fascin-1 staining correlated directly with more advanced cancer stages (TNM) and inversely with survival rates. Our findings suggest the possibility that pharmacological inhibitors of cortactin and fascin-1 activity may slow down tumor progression and prolong survival time in patients with gastric adenocarcinomas.

Key Words: cortactin, fascin-1, gastric adenocarcinoma, immunohistochemical staining, survival test

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