Expression of mucin 1 (MUC1) in esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma: Its relationship with prognosis

Using 2 anti-mucin I (MUCI) monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), DF3 and BCP8, we examined MUCI expression immunohistochemically in 192 esophageal squamous-c ell carcinomas (SCCs). In normal squamous epithelium of the esophagus, DF3 was not expressed, but BCP8 was expressed on the cell membrane, mainly in t he surface layer. In esophageal SCCs, DF3 and BCP8 were expressed mainly on the cell membrane of SCC cells, but also in the cytoplasm in several cases . To analyze the correlation of MUCI expression and the prognosis of the pa tients, the 192 cases were divided into 2 groups: high-expression group (HE G, > 50% of the neoplastic cells stained) and low-expression group (LEG, <5 0% of neoplastic cells stained). DF3-HEG (24 patients) showed a significant ly poorer survival rate than DF3-LEG (168 patients), whereas there was no s ignificant difference in survival between BCP8-HEG (43 patients) and BCP8-L EG (149 patients). Also, in the analysis of 162 patients with advanced stag e (submucosal or deeper invasion) to exclude the influence of low expressio n of DF3 and BCP8 in 30 patients with early stage (up to the level of muscu laris mucosae), DF3-HEG (24 patients) showed significantly poorer survival than DF3-LEG (138 patients), whereas there was no significant difference in survival between BCP8-HEG (42 patients) and BCP8-LEG (120 patients). The r esults of our study on esophageal SCC suggest that the expression of sialyl oligosaccharides detected by DF3 is related to poor prognosis. Int. J. Can cer (Pred. Oncol.) 84:251-257, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.