Clinical significance of β2-adrenergic receptor expression in patients with surgically resected gastric adenocarcinoma

The beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2-AR) is highly expressed in various human neoplasms and has been considered a novel therapeutic target of cancer treatment. However, the clinicopathological significance of beta 2-AR expression in patients with gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to explore beta 2-AR expression and its prognostic significance. A total of 331 patients with surgically resected GC were evaluated. Tumor sections were stained immunohistochemically for beta 2-AR. And, we confirmed beta 2-AR expression in the GC cell lines by Western blot. beta 2-AR was highly expressed in 30.5 % of GC patients. Expression was significantly associated with age, T factor, tumor differentiation, histology of non-signet cells, lymphatic permeation, and vascular invasion. And, all the GC cell lines expressed beta 2-AR. On univariate analysis, age, disease stage, T factor, N factor, lymphatic permeation, vascular invasion, and beta 2-AR expression were significantly associated with overall survival. Although the multivariate analysis did not indicate that beta 2-AR expression was independently prognostic of survival, high-level beta 2-AR expression was associated with significantly poorer survival of GC patients with well or moderately differentiated tumors. beta 2-AR expression was a significant predictor of tumor aggressiveness in, and poorer survival of, patients with GC.