Expression and prognostic value of ZNRD1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The expression of ZNRD1 in esophageal cancer was first investigated by immunohistochemical analysis, RT-PCR and real-time PCR. The ZNRD1 antibody produced a consistently cytoplasmic staining pattern in all epithelial cells. The expression of ZNRD1 was statistically correlated with differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, pathological stage, lymphatic invasion, and vascular invasion. The survival rates of patients with ZNRD1-negative tumors tended to be statistically lower than those with ZNRD1-positive tumors. ZNRD1 expression was also confirmed to be down-regulated in esophageal cancer tissues compared to adjacent non-neoplastic tissues. The results showed that ZNRD1 might play an important role in esophageal carcinogenesis.