Overexpression of Phospholipase A2 Group IIA in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Association with Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression

Background: Esophageal cancer is one of the most frequently occurring malignancies and the seventh leadingcause of cancer-related deaths in the world. The esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the most commonhistological type of esophageal cancer worldwide. Materials and
Methods: Our goal in this study was to detectphospholipase A2 Group IIA (PLA2G2A) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) immuno-expression in ESCC in a highriskpopulation in China.
Results: Positive expression of PLA2G2A protein was observed in 57.2% (166/290) ofthe cases, while COX-2 was found in 257 of 290 samples (88.6%), both PLA2G2A and COX-2 being expressedin 153 cases (52.8%), with a significant agreement (Kappa=0.091, p=0.031).Overexpression of PLA2G2A wassignificantly correlated with the depth of invasion (p=0.001). Co-expression of PLA2G2A and COX-2 not onlysignificantly correlated with the depth of invasion (p=0.004) but also with TNM stage (p=0.04).
Conclusions:Our results showed that in patients with ESCC, PLA2G2A overexpression and PLA2G2A co-expression withCOX-2 is significantly correlated with advanced stage. The biological role and pathophysiologic regulation ofPLA2G2A and COX-2 overexpression in ESCC deserve further investigation.