ABSTRACT
Purpose To investgate the expression and clinical significance of GFRα3 in esophagus squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods Expression of GFRα3 in 114 esophagus squamous cell carcinoma,17 cases of high grade intraepithelial neoplasia and Tis,25 cases nomal tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry.Expression of GFRα3 in 12 paired flesh tissues had also been determined by Western-blot.Results The positive expression of GFRα3 in nomal esophageal tissues,high grade intraepithelial tissues and Tis was 0,29.4％,76.3％ respectively by immunohistochemistry.Expression of GFRα3 in carcinomatous tissues was higher than that of adjacent tissues (P ＜ 0.05).Moreover,the expression of GFRα3 was significantly associated with depth of invasion,higher clinical stage and survival outcome of patients with ESCC.Conclusion The expression of GFRα3 maybe a useful predictor of disease depth of invasion,progression and outcome in ESCC.