Expression and clinical significance of girdin in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying the development of gastric cancer is crucial in identifying gastric cancer-susceptible populations, screening for tumor markers and in the application of gene therapy. This study was conducted to investigate girdin expression in gastric cancer and para-cancer tissues and to elucidate the role of girdin in the development of gastric cancer. Tissue micro-array and streptavidin-peroxidase immunohistochemical staining were used to detect girdin expression in 105 gastric cancer and 72 para-cancer tissue samples. Analyses of the patients' clinical and pathological data were also performed. The expression ratio of girdin was 40.0% in gastric cancer and 11.1% in the para-cancer tissues and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Girdin expression was found to be positively correlated (P<0.05) with tumor invasion depth and lymph node metastasis, while no significant associations were found between girdin expression and gender, age, tumor size, pathological grade and clinical stage (P>0.05). In conclusion, the upregulation of girdin expression in gastric cancer may contribute to tumor metastasis and cancer development, suggesting that girdin may be a novel indicator for evaluating lymph node metastasis and gastric cancer outcome.