PARP-1, CK7/20 and p53 in Barrett＇s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma： expression and its significance

Objective To investigate the expression of poly （ADP-ribose） polymerase-1 （PARP- 1 ） , cytokeratins （CK） 7/20, and p53 in patients with Barrett＇s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma, and to evaluate their significance. Methods Expression of PARP-1, CK7/20 and p53 were determined by immunohistochemistry in 108 patients （including 40 Barrett＇s esophagus, 28 esophageal adenocarcinoma and 40 cardiac mucosa）. Results The expression of PARP-1 was found in Barrett＇s esophagus, esophageal ade- nocarcinoma and cardiac epithelium with a significantly higher level in esophageal adenocarcinoma than the other two groups （P 〈 0. 01 ）. CK7/20 was expressed in much of intestinal metaplasia, part of cardiac epi- thelium and ad cells. The positive expression of p53 was observed in all three groups, and it was significantly higher in adenocarcinoma group than in other two groups （P 〈 0. 05 ）. PARP-1 expression is highly correlated with that of p53 in Barrett＇s esophagus （ r = 0.49, P 〈 0.01 ）. Conelusion CK7/20 is a sensitive but less specific indicator for intestinal metaplasia. Both PARP-1 and p53 are involved in the patho- genesis of esophageal adenocarcinoma and might help to determine the risk of Barrett＇s esophagus developing into esophageal adenocarcinoma. Key words: Barrett esophagus ;  Adenocarcinoma ;  Diagnosis