β1 integrin expression in adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In vitro and in vivo studies did not show that beta 1 integrin expression is associated with malignant transformation or that it is of prognostic value in some malignant tumors. There are no data on the expression or prognostic value of beta 1 integrins in adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus. METHODOLOGY: We assessed the expression pattern and the prognostic impact of beta 1 integrins in paraffin-embedded specimens of 41 patients with adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus by immunochemistry, At the time of investigation, neither histomorphological parameters nor the survival time were known. RESULTS: There was no correlation between histomorphological parameters and the expression of beta 1 integrins. The expression of pi integrins had no influence on long term survival. There was a relationship between the prognosis and the following histopathological parameters: pT, pN and pM category, the UICC stage, the presence of lymphangiosis, and the DNA content of the tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary results obtained in this study did not show that the expression of beta 1 integrins was of prognostic value in patients with adenocarcinoma of Barrett's esophagus. Further studies in a larger number of patients are required to confirm the results obtained in this investigation.