Expression of cortactin and survivin in renal cell carcinoma associated with tumor aggressiveness

We tested the hypothesis that the expression of cortactin and survivin in renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) correlates with more advanced stages of the disease. Immunohistochemical analysis of cortactin and survivin expression (scored on a scale of 0-400) was performed in 124 renal cell carcinomas including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CRCC), papillary RCC (PRCC), CRCC with sarcomatoid differentiation (SRCC), chromophobe RCC (ChRCC), and CRCC with granular cell differentiation (GRCC). Higher cortactin scores in CRCC were significantly correlated with higher T (p = 0.021) and N stages (p = 0.036), and nuclear grade (p = 0.012). Higher cortactin immunostaining scores were associated with higher mortality (p = 0.035). In addition, the survivin scores were significantly higher in the more aggressive GRCC and SRCC than in CRCC, suggesting a significant role of survivin expression in transformation of tumor cells to a more malignant phenotype. Higher expression of cortactin and survivin significantly correlated with advanced clinicopathological stage. Our findings support the potential targeting of survivin and cortactin for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for renal cell carcinoma.