ABSTRACT
Esophageal lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is extremely rare. We report the first case of esophageal LELC showing macroscopic reduction. A 67-year-old male presented with dysphagia and, by endoscopic examination, was found to have a significantly raised tumor of 10 mm in diameter in the thoracic esophagus. The biopsied material showed esophageal cancer. We performed endoscopic submucosal dissection. However, the tumor became flattened, similar to a scar, in only 2 mo. Histologically, the carcinoma cells had infiltrated the submucosal layer. Prominent infiltration of T lymphoid cells that stained positive for CD8 was observed around the carcinoma cells. Therefore, this lesion was considered to be an LELC with poorly differentiated squamous cells. Because the margin was positive, an esophagectomy was performed. Carcinoma cells were detected in the neck in one lymph node. The staging was T1N0M1b. However, the patient has been well, without adjuvant therapy or recurrence, for more than 5 years.
ABSTRACT
The expression of microRNA-203 (miR-203) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues is remarkably lower than that in nonESCC tissues. We investigated how miR-203 could influence the development of ESCC cells. Our analyses revealed that miR-203 inhibited the migration and invasion of ESCC cells. Genome-wide gene expression data and target site inhibition assays showed that miR-203 appears to directly regulate LIM and SH3 protein 1 (LASP1). The knockdown of LASP1 resulted in inhibition of the migration and invasion of ESCC cells. Our results suggest that miR-203 and its target LASP1, may be associated with the progression of ESCC. In clinical ESCC specimens, the expression levels of miR-203, which were lower compared to those in normal tissues, were inversely correlated with the mRNA expression levels of LASP1. Moreover, we found that there was a significant correlation between the expression levels of miR-203 and the relapsefree survival. The identification of a cancer network regulated by miR-203 could provide new insights into the potential mechanisms of the progression of ESCC.
