Expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1/CCL2 in gastric cancer and its relationship with tumor hypoxia

AIM: To investigate the expression and prognostic value of CCL2 in gastric cancer, as well as its relationship with tumor hypoxia. METHODS: Tumor tissues from 68 gastric cancer patients (GC) were analyzed, and the expression of CCL2 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) in tumor tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. Statistical evaluations that were used included univariate log-rank tests of Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox regression model analysis. RESULTS: CCL2 was highly expressed in 66.2% (45/68) of gastric cancer specimens. The distribution of CCL2 expression in tumor tissue was consistent with that of HIF-1 alpha. Patients with high CCL2 expression in GC had a lower overall survival rate [50.6 mo (95% CI:44.44-56.93) vs 64.6 mo (95% CI: 60.27-68.94), P = 0.013]. CONCLUSION: CCL2 expression correlates closely with HIF-1 alpha expression in gastric cancer. CCL2 may be an independent prognostic marker for GC. (C) 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.