Immunohistochemical Expression of Survivin in Gastric Cancer and Precancerous Lesions of the Stomach

Introduction & Aim: Gastric cancer is still one of the prevalent leading cause of cancer related mortality. Recent studies indicate role of Survivin in the development of numerous types of human cancer, including gastric cancer, and its overexpression correlates with poor prognosis of this neoplasm. The aim of this study was Identify and evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of Survivin in gastric cancer and precursor lesions. Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of 22 normal gastric mucosa (control), 38 chronic gastritis, 32 Intestinal metaplasia, 20 Dysplasia and 28 gastric cancer were analyzed. Tissue slides were obtained from each block by cutting 3-μm sections. Immunohistochemistry was performed using the polyclonal antibodies specific for Survivin and protein expression was assessed. The staining intensity was quantified and differences between groups were compared. Results: Consistent with our data, we detected higher expression of Survivin activity in Gastric adenocarcinoma when compared with other groups (P<0.001). However, Survivin positivity significantly higher in Intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia groups compared with control group. Expression of Survivin in the chronic gastritis specimens was not significantly different from control group. Also in our study, we found that Survivin yielded a pooled area under ROC curve (AUC) of 0.85 (95 % CI: 0.76–0.94), sensitivity: 78.5% and specificity: 74.4% in discriminating cancer patients from normal control. Conclusion: The results suggest that expression of the Survivin is a common finding in gastric cancer and occurs early process of malignant transformation of the gastric mucosa.

Keywords:

Adenocarcinoma Survivin , Gastric cancer , Gastritis