ABSTRACT
Little is reported about the role of PTEN gene in the progression and prognosis of GISTs.This study examined the clinical implications of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN as a prognostic factor in the GISTs.Immunohistological staining and immunoblotting were employed to examine the PTEN protein expression,and its association with clinical measures.Clinicopathological features were reviewed by a retrospective examination of medical records.Reduced PTEN expression was significantly associated with tumor diameter,mitotic figure count,metastasis and pathological stage of tumor(P<0.05),and was not correlated with age,gender and tumor location(P>0.05).The 3-year survival rate of the patients with reduced PTEN expression was significantly lower than those with high PTEN expression(P<0.01).These results suggest that the expression of PTEN gene was significantly linked with the progression and metastasis of GISTs and it is an independent prognostic factor.