STAT3 Activation in Psoriasis and Cancers

Activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 has been reported in many cancers. It is also well known that STAT3 is activated in skin lesions of psoriasis, a chronic skin disease. In this study, to ascertain whether patients with psoriasis have a predisposition to STAT3 activation, we examined phosphorylated STAT3 in cancer cells of psoriasis patients via immunohistochemistry. We selected patients with psoriasis who visited the Department of Dermatology, Jichi Medical University Hospital, from January 2000 to May 2015, and had a history of cancer. We performed immunostaining for phosphorylated STAT3 in tumor cells of five, four, and six cases of gastric, lung, and head and neck cancer, respectively. The results showed that there was no significant difference in STAT3 activation in any of the three cancer types between the psoriasis and control groups. Although this study presents limitations in its sample size and inconsistency in the histology and differentiation of the cancers, results suggest that psoriasis patients do not have a predisposition to STAT3 activation. Instead, STAT3 activation is intricately regulated by each disorder or cellular microenvironment in both cancer and psoriasis.

Automated summary

This study did not find a significant difference in STAT3 activation between psoriasis patients and the control group in three types of cancer. The results suggest that psoriasis patients do not have a predisposition to STAT3 activation, indicating that STAT3 activation is intricately regulated by each disorder or cellular microenvironment in both cancer and psoriasis. However, due to limitations in sample size and inconsistency in cancer histology and differentiation, further research is needed to verify these conclusions.