Objective: To investigate the expression of annexin A7 (ANXA7) in the differentiation and lymphatic metastasis of gastric cancer (GC), and to investigate the relationship between ANXA7 and biological characteristics of GC.
Methods: The clinicopathological data of 124 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot were performed to analyze the expression of ANXA 7 in primary GC tissues. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between ANXA7 expression level and differentiation of the GC.
Results: A total of 124 GC patients were enrolled in this study, and the expression rate of ANXA7 was 65.3% in the GC. The survival rate of ANXA7-positive patients was significantly lower than that in the patients with negative expression (P<0.001). The results of Cox regression analysis showed that the positive expression of ANXA7, submucosal confinement and pathological stage of GC were associated with poor clinical outcomes. The ratio of pixel density value of primary GC tissues with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than those in the tissues without lymph node metastasis (0.51±0.07 vs. 0.39±0.06, P<0.001). ROC analysis showed a high area under the curve for the ratio of pixel density value of annexin A7 in the primary GC tissues. At a cut-off level of >0.419, the ratio of pixel density value of ANXA7 exhibited a sensitivity of 91.2% and a specificity of 72.7% for detecting lymph node metastasis of GC.
Conclusion: High annexin A7 expression is associated with poor differentiation of gastric cancer, and it may become a predictor for lymphatic metastasis of GC.