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Galectin-3 and β-catenin are associated with a poor prognosis in serous epithelial ovarian cancer
Authors Liu Y, Xie L, Wang D, Li D, Xu G, Wang L, Zhou H, Yu Y, Lin Z, Lu H
Received 14 April 2018
Accepted for publication 13 June 2018
Published 26 September 2018 Volume 2018:10 Pages 3963—3971
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/CMAR.S171146
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 2
Editor who approved publication: Dr Antonella D'Anneo
Yunyun Liu,1,2,* Lingling Xie,1,2,* Dongyan Wang,1 Da Li,1 Guocai Xu,1 Lijuan Wang,1 Hui Zhou,1 Yuefei Yu,3,4 Zhongqiu Lin,1 Huaiwu Lu1,2
1Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 2Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Gene Regulation and Target Therapy of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 3Department of Research and Development, Guangzhou Hengtai Biotech Ltd, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 4Department of Research and Development, Ameritech Biomedicines, Inc., Houston, TX, USA
*These authors contributed equally to this work
Purpose: This study was designed to explore the expression levels of Galectin-3 (Gal-3) and β-catenin in serous epithelial ovarian cancer (SEOC), the linkage between their expressions, and the clinicopathological features of SEOC patients.
Patients and methods: Seventy-four SEOC patients’ specimens were detected for Gal-3 and β-Catenin expressions using immunohistochemistry, and the association between β-catenin or Gal-3 protein expressions and clinicopathological features, treatment effects, and prognosis were analyzed using SPSS 19.0. Western blot was used to analyze protein expressions of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ovarian cancer cell lines.
Results: There was a statistically significant positive correlation between Gal-3 and β-catenin expressions in SEOC (r=0.304 and P=0.001). Gal-3 expression was related to the grade (P=0.037), clinical stage (P=0.034), platinum resistance (P=0.030), and recurrence (P=0.001) in SEOC. There was a significant correlation between β-catenin with recurrence in SEOC (P=0.035). Platinum resistance (P=0.003) and Gal-3 expression (P<0.001) were independent risk factors for poorer overall survival (OS). OS of the strongly positive Gal-3 group was significantly lower than that of the negative and weakly positive groups (log-rank test, P=0.001). OS of the positive β-catenin group was lower than that of the negative β-catenin group (log-rank test, P=0.034). Downregulating Gal-3 expression attenuated the protein expressions of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ovarian cancer cell lines.
Conclusion: Gal-3 might activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in SEOC. Hence, Gal-3 may serve as a prognostic factor for SEOC. Targeting Gal-3 may be a promising new treatment approach for SEOC.
Keywords: galectin-3, serous epithelial ovarian cancer, Wnt/β-catenin pathway, prognosis
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