Role of COX2 as a Biomarker for Estimating Survival of Patients With Clinical Stage I Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM: The prognostic significance of biomarkers related to gastric cancer prognosis has not been fully elucidated. The aim of study was to use immunohistochemical biomarkers to reveal prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 682 patients who had undergone curative surgery were evaluated regarding the correlation of prognosis and immunohistochemical biomarkers. RESULTS: The COX2-positive groups showed a poor 5-year overall and disease-free survival. Further analysis revealed that COX2 positivity was a significant risk factor for poorer disease-free survival in the group with clinical stage I disease (p=0.016). We also noted a marked trend between COX2 positivity and poorer overall survival. The COX2-positive group showed general postoperative pathological up-staging compared with the COX2-negative group. CONCLUSION: This study showed the potential of COX2 as a biomarker for gastric cancer prognosis. Preoperative evaluation of COX2 might be a useful tool for generating optimal treatment strategies in patients with clinical stage I gastric cancer.