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Increased Toll-like receptor 9 expression indicates adverse prognosis in oesophageal adenocarcinoma
Joonas H Kauppila1, Heikki Takala, Katri S Selander
1Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology Surgery, University of Oulu, Finland. joonas.kauppila@oulu.fi
Aims:
Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR-9) is a cellular DNA receptor that has been linked previously to invasion in various cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate TLR-9 expression and its possible association with prognosis in oesophageal adenocarcinoma.
Methods And Results:
Immunohistochemical TLR-9 expression was graded in clinical specimens (n = 76) of oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The TLR-9 immunostaining intensity was compared with tumour grade, stage and indicators of proliferation, apoptosis and tumour vascular supply. High TLR-9 expression correlated with advanced tumour stage, tumour unresectability, poor differentiation and high proliferation. Strong immunoreactivity of TLR-9 also indicated poor overall survival.
Conclusions:
High TLR-9 expression is associated with poor differentiation, a high proliferation rate and disseminated disease. Accordingly, increased TLR-9 expression may contribute to the growth and metastatic properties of oesophageal adenocarcinoma.
