The relationship between the glucose transporter type 1 expression and F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Oncology. 2009;76(4):286-92. doi: 10.1159/000207505. Epub 2009 Mar 5.

Abstract

Objective: Glucose transporter type 1 (Glut1) has been reported to be present in several types of carcinomas. The aims of this study are to evaluate Glut1 expression in both primary tumors and metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to assess the relationship between Glut1 expression and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) accumulation.

Methods: We immunohistochemically examined the expression of Glut1 in 60 surgically resected primary lesions and 95 metastatic LNs of ESCC and classified them into 3 groups. The FDG accumulation was assessed with a positron emission tomography (PET).

Results: In the primary tumors, a high Glut1 expression was found to be significantly associated with advanced lesions: depth of tumor (p < 0.01), LN metastasis (p < 0.05) and advanced pathological stage (p < 0.01). The Glut1 expression of the metastatic LNs significantly correlated with that of each primary tumor (p < 0.001). The PET-positive lesions had a larger size and higher Glut1 expression than the PET-negative lesions in both the primary tumors and metastatic LNs.

Conclusions: In both the primary tumors and metastatic LNs of ESCC, the Glut1 expression and tumor size correlated with the FDG accumulation and influence the sensitivity of the PET scan.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / pathology
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Esophageal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Female
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / pharmacokinetics*
  • Glucose Transporter Type 1 / analysis*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Lymphatic Metastasis
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Positron-Emission Tomography

Substances

  • Glucose Transporter Type 1
  • SLC2A1 protein, human
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18