ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of COX-2 and telomerase activity in esophageal carcinoma tissues(ECT)and resection margin of the esophagus(RME),and to analyze their diagnostic and prognostic value for esophageal carcinoma.Methods The expression of COX-2 and telomerase activity in ECT and RME was examined in 82 patients with esophageal carcinoma and 40 normal esophageal epithelium tissues(NEET) by tissue array with EnVision imimunohistochemistry.Their correlations with the clinicopathologic factors were analyzed statistically.Results The positive expression rates of COX-2 and telomerase in ECT and RME were significantly higher than those in NEET(82.9 ％,29.3 ％vs 12.5 ％;and 87.8 ％,18.3 ％vs 5.0 ％;respectively;all P ＜ 0.05).The expression of COX-2 and telomerase in ECT and RME was correlated to TNM stage,tumor cell differentiation and lymph node metastasis (all P ＜0.01),while both expression in RME was closely related to anastomotic recurrence following resection of esophageal carcinoma (P＜0.01).The survival rate in esophageal carcinoma patients with the positive expression of COX-2 and telomerase in RME could be much lower than those with negative expression of COX-2 and telomerase in RME (P=0.000,Log-rank test).COX-2 expression was positively correlated to telomerase in ECT and RME (r=0.786,0.218,P＜0.05).Conclusion COX-2 and telomerase might be important biological markers for malignant transformation and invasion and metastasis of esophageal carcinoma.The activity of COX-2 and telomerase in RME could prognosticate anastomotic recurrence,and could be potential biomarkers evaluate the surgical treatment and prognosis of esophageal carcinoma.