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High expressions of galectin-1 and VEGF are associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

High expressions of galectin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are correlated with biological behavior in some cancers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the expressions of galectin-1 and VEGF in gastric cancer and investigate their relationships with clinicopathological factors and prognostic significance. Immunohistochemical analyses for galectin-1 and VEGF expression were performed on 108 cases of gastric cancer. The relationship between the expression and staining intensity of galectin-1 and VEGF, clinicopathological variables, and survival rates was analyzed. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that 68 of 108 gastric cancer samples (63.0 %) were positive for galectin-1 and 62 out of 108 gastric cancer samples (57.4 %) were positive for VEGF. Galectin-1 expression was associated with tumor size, differentiation grade, TNM stage, lymph node metastases, and VEGF expression. VEGF expression was related to tumor size, TNM stage, and lymph node metastases. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that high galectin-1 and VEGF expressions exhibited significant correlations with poor prognosis for gastric cancer patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that galectin-1 and VEGF expressions were independent prognostic parameters for the overall survival rate of gastric cancer patients. The results of the present study suggest that galectin-1 expression is positively associated with VEGF expression. Both galectin-1 and VEGF can serve as independent prognostic indicators of poor survival for gastric cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant of the Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 81172279), Republic of China, and a grant of Emphasis Talents of Medical Science, Jiangsu Province (no. RC2011161).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Subei People’s Hospital of Jiangsu Province, the First Clinic Medical School of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, Jiangsu Province, China

    Dong Tang, Qing-Guo Li, Ji-Ran Zhang, Ping Li, Qi Lu, Gang Niu, Jun Gao, Nian-Yuan Ye & Dao-Rong Wang

  2. Department of Gastric Cancer and Soft Tissue Sarcomas, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Jie Chen

  3. Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Jie Chen

  4. Basic Medical of College, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China

    Sen Wang

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  1. Jie Chen
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  2. Dong Tang
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  3. Sen Wang
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  4. Qing-Guo Li
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  11. Dao-Rong Wang
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Correspondence to Dao-Rong Wang.

Additional information

Jie Chen, Dong Tang, and Sen Wang contributed equally to this paper.

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Chen, J., Tang, D., Wang, S. et al. High expressions of galectin-1 and VEGF are associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. Tumor Biol. 35, 2513–2519 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1332-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1332-8

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