Association Between Phosphorylated AXL Expression and Survival in Patients with Gastric Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Gastric cancer (GC) remains a significant cause of cancer mortality, particularly in East Asia, due to late diagnosis and metastasis.
• Phosphorylated AXL (pAXL), a receptor tyrosine kinase, is implicated in promoting cancer progression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between pAXL expression and prognosis in gastric cancer (GC) patients.
• To evaluate pAXL as a prognostic marker alongside fibronectin and phosphorylated AKT (pAkt).

Main Methods:

• Immunohistochemistry was used to assess pAXL, fibronectin, and pAkt expression in 188 GC specimens.
• Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate logistic regression were employed to analyze the association between pAXL expression and patient outcomes.

Main Results:

• Higher pAXL expression was significantly linked to improved survival rates, notably in male GC patients.
• pAXL expression positively correlated with fibronectin and pAkt upregulation, indicating a role in tumor invasion and EMT.
• pAXL, fibronectin, and pAkt were identified as significant prognostic indicators in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions:

• pAXL serves as a valuable prognostic marker in GC, with higher levels correlating to better survival, particularly in males.
• pAXL appears to enhance GC cell invasiveness via fibronectin and pAkt, positioning it as a potential therapeutic target.
• Further research into pAXL-targeted therapies is warranted to understand their role in GC progression and treatment.