FOXP3 Expression in Esophageal Cancer Cells is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Esophageal Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine FOXP3 expression in human esophageal cancer cells and to examine the relationship between the FOXP3 expression levels and the prognosis of esophageal cancer in patients. METHODOLOGY: We evaluated FOXP3 in esophageal cancer tissue obtained from 60 patients by immunohistochemistry. The data were analyzed by SPSS16.0 software with χ² test, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, log-rank test and Cox regression analysis. Data was expressed as mean ±SD. A two-tailed p-value of 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Twenty nine (48.33%) were found to have FOXP3 over-expression in esophageal cancer cells, while normal esophageal mucosal cells are negative. The FOXP3 over-expression had a significant correlation between tumor staging and lymph node metastasis. The FOXP3 negative group showed significantly better overall survival than the over-expression group (32.3% vs. 13.8%, log-rank test, χ²=11.801, p=0.001). Cox regression analysis showed that T stage, N stage and FOXP3 protein expression were independent prognostic risk factors. The FOXP3 protein expression increased in a subset of esophageal cancers and the over-expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with esophageal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that blocking FOXP3 expression in cancer cells may lead to a novel therapeutic strategy for esophageal cancer.