The Expression And Significance Of Notch In CCRCC

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the expression of Notch-1 and Jag-1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma(CCRCC) and its correlation with patients' survival.PATIENTS AND METHODS:We analyzed the expression of Notch-1 and Jag-1 by immunohistochemistry in 103 pathologically identified CCRCC samples.RESULTS:The cellular distribution of Notch-1 and Jag-1 was mainly found in the cytoplasm and cell membrane.The expression level of both Notch-1 and Jag-1 was strongly correlated with tumor size,grade,and TNM stage,respectively.When analyzing the correlation with survival,low Jag-1 expression was significantly associated with longer overall survival(OS) and disease-free survival(DFS).Patients with low Notch-1 expression also showed a longer OS and DFS.To make a risk model based on the expression of Notch-1 and Jag-1,we divided the patients into three groups:high risk group(high Notch-1 and Jag-1),low risk group(low Notch-1 and Jag-1) and intermediate risk group(either high Notch-1 or Jag-1).Patients in the high risk group showed a significantly worse survival than in the other two groups(p=0.013).While,being in the high-risk group was not an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis(p＞0.05).CONCLUSION:The expression of Notch-1 and Jag-1 was correlated with patients' clinical and pathological variables.High Notch expression in CCRCCs indicated poor survival.