Overexpression of Cdc25C predicts response to radiotherapy and survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy followed by surgery

Biomarker identification is crucial for the selection of patients who might benefit from radiotherapy. To explore potential markers for response and prognosis in patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma treated with radiotherapy followed by surgery, we evaluated the expression of cell cycle checkpoint-related proteins Chk2, Cdc25C, and Cyclin D1. A total of 56 patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were treated with radiotherapy followed by surgery. Pretreatment tumor biopsy specimens were analyzed for Chk2, Cdc25C, and Cyclin D1 expression by immunohistochemistry. High expression of Chk2, Cyclin D1, and Cdc25C was observed in 44 (78.6%), 15 (26.8%), and 27 (48.2%) patients, respectively. The median survival was 16 months (range, 3-154 months), with a 5-year overall survival rate of 19.6%. Overexpression of Chk2 was associated with smoking (P = 0.021), overexpression of Cdc25C was associated with patient age (P = 0.033) and tumor length (P = 0.001), and overexpression of Cdc25C was associated with pathologic complete response (P = 0.038). Univariate analysis demonstrated that overexpression of Cdc25C and pathologic complete response was associated with better survival. In multivariate analysis, Cdc25C was the most significant independent predictor of better survival (P = 0.014) for patients treated with radiotherapy followed by surgery. Overexpression of Cdc25C was significantly associated with pathologic complete response and better survival of patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer treated with radiotherapy followed by surgery. These results suggest that Cdc25C may be a biomarker of treatment response and good prognosis for esophageal carcinoma patients. Thus, immunohistochemical staining of Cdc25C in a pretreatment specimen may be a useful method of identifying optimal treatment for patients with esophageal carcinoma.