Prognostic Significance of KAI1/CD82 and its Relation Tod2-40 Labeled Lymphatic Vessel Invasion (LVI) and Lymphatic Vessel Density (LVD) in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC)

Objectives: The KAI1/CD82 appears to inhibit multiple steps of cancer metastatic. D2-40 labeled LVI and LVD are also closely associated with cancer metastasis. We investigated the expression levels of KAI1/CD82, D2-40 labeled LVI and LVD and their correlation with clinicopathological factors in ESCC.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry and Western Blot were used to detect KAI1/CD82 expression levels in the peritumoral tissue and ESCC. LVI and LVD detected by D2-40 immunohistochemical staining. The relationships between the KAI1/CD82 expression levels, LVI and LVD were analyzed. The prognosis of ESCC was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox’s proportional hazards model.

Results: KAI1/CD82 expression was markedly lower in ESCC than in the para-carcinoma tissue (P<0.05). Positive peritumoral LVI and high mean peritumoral LVD were positively correlated while KAI1/ CD82 expression was negatively correlated with tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and clinical stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that high mean peritumoral LVD and positive LVI was negatively correlated with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) time, while KAI1/CD82 expression was positively correlated with OS and DFS time. Low KAI1/CD82 expression, high mean peritumoral LVD, positive LVI was associated with a poor prognosis in ESCC. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the positive LVI and KAI1/CD82 positive expression were independent predictors for OS in ESCC. Positive LVI and high mean peritumoral LVD were independent predictors for DFS in ESCC Conclusions: KAI1/CD82 expression, LVI and LVD were significantly correlated with some clinicopathological factors of ESCC including lymph node metastasis, differentiation, and clinical stage. Combined detection of these factors may be of significant value in predicting the prognosis and metastasis in ESCC patients.