Expression and prognostic relevance of p21 WAF1 in stage III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

The prognostic effect of p21 WAF1 expression on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients is controversial. Further clarifying the effect of this protein is beneficial for optimizing the patient outcomes. In the current study, we investigated the expression of p21 WAF1 protein in 189 specimens of stage III ESCC by immunohistochemistry. As shown by the Kaplan-Meier curve, the overall survival rate of the positive-expression group was significantly higher than that of the negative-expression group (P < 0.05). No significant correlation was observed between p21 WAF1 expression and clinicopathological parameters in terms of gender, age, tumor location, tumor grade, pathological stage, and number of regional lymph node metastases (P > 0.05). We concluded that p21 WAF1 played an intricate role in the tumorigenesis and development of ESCC. p21 WAF1 could serve as a positive prognostic predictor for stage III ESCC patients. © 2011 the Authors. Journal compilation © 2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus.