Purpose: The aim of the current study was to find out the significance of the immunohistochemical expression of pRb2/p130, which is a member of the retinoblastoma gene family, in squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.
Methods: We analyzed immunohistochemically the expression of pRb2/p130 of 107 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the esophagus and the correlation of pRb2/p130 expression with clinicopathological features was investigated.
Results: Expression of pRb2/p130 was observed in 42 SCCs (39.3%). There was a significant correlation of pRb2/p130 expression with the histological type of well-differentiated SCC (P< 0.0001). The survival rate of patients with esophageal SCCs expressing pRb2/p130 was significantly better than that of patients with tumors without pRb2/p130 expression (P= 0.016). A multivariate analysis demonstrated that pRb2/p130 expression (P= 0.026), venous invasion (P= 0.028), and TNM stage (P= 0.044) were independent prognostic indicators in patients with esophageal SCCs.
Conclusions: Differentiation of esophageal SCC might be partially mediated by the pRb2/p130 gene, and pRb2/p130 expression can additionally be an indicator of the better prognosis of patients with esophageal SCCs.