Study on the expression of c-Met in gastric cancer and its correlation with preoperative serum tumor markers and prognosis

BACKGROUND: Studies have found that c-Met plays a critical role in the progression of solid tumors. This study aimed to investigate the expression of c-Met in gastric cancer (GC) and its correlation with preoperative serum tumor markers and prognosis, in order to provide a more theoretical basis for targeting c-Met in the treatment of GC. METHODS: Ninety-seven patients who underwent curative gastrectomy in our hospital from December 2013 to September 2015 were included in this study. The tissue microarray was constructed by paraffin-embedded tumor tissue of enrolled patients, including 97 GC points and 83 paracancerous points. Then, it was used for c-Met immunohistochemical staining, followed by an immunological H-score. The clinical baseline data and 5-year survival of patients with low and high c-Met expression were compared. Besides, the correlation between the expression of c-Met in tumor tissues and preoperative serum tumor markers was investigated. Finally, multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to explore the survival risk factors of patients. RESULTS: c-Met has a high expression rate in GC tissues 64.95% (63/97). The expression of c-Met was significantly different in different clinicopathological stages (p < 0.05); the high expression group also had a higher M stage and clinicopathological stage of GC. The correlation test between the c-Met H-score and CA125 was statistically significant (p = 0.004), indicating a positive correlation. Furthermore, high c-Met expression correlated with poor overall survival (OS) for 5 years (p = 0.005). It was also found that the high expression of c-Met in stage I–II patients was correlative with poor OS for 5 years (p = 0.026), while stage III–IV patients had no statistical significance (p > 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that c-Met might be an independent risk factor for survival 5 years after surgery. CONCLUSION: This study found that the high expression of c-Met in GC tissues was associated with poor 5-year OS in GC patients and was an independent risk factor for 5-year survival after curative gastrectomy. The expression of c-Met in GC tissues was also positively correlated with preoperative serum CA125.