Aim: Glucose transporter type 1 (Glut1) plays a crucial role in cancer-specific metabolism. We explored the expression of Glut1 and c-myc, the relationship between them and the effect of Glut1, c-myc on prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Materials & methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of Glut1 and c-myc. χ2 test analyzes the relationship between c-myc, Glut1 and pathological parameters. Spearman correlation analyzes the relationship between c-myc and Glut1. Survival analysis was used to investigate the effect of Glut1 and c-myc on prognosis.
Results: Glut1 positivity was associated with tumor size (p < 0.01), depth of invasion (p = 0.021), Tumor, Node, Metastasis stage (IA+IB,II+IIB,IIIA+IIIB,IVA+IVB; p = 0.004), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.002) and nerve invasion (p = 0.050). C-myc positivity was associated with tumor location (p = 0.015), depth of invasion (p = 0.022) and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.035). There was a positive correlation between c-myc and Glut1 (r = 0.321). Patients with Glut1 c-myc co-expression had poorer prognosis.
Conclusion: Inhibiting Glut1 c-myc co-expression may improve the prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Keywords: Glut1; c-myc; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; immunohistochemistry; prognosis.