Expression of livin gene in esophageal cancer

Objective:To study the expression of livin in esophageal cancer,and to explore its relationship with the clinical pathology of esophageal cancer. Methods:The expressions of livin-α and livin-β mRNA were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction combined with silver staining technique in 36 patients with esophageal cancer. Results:The positive expression rate of livin mRNA in the tumor tissues was 50.0%. The expression of livin was correlated with the depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis (P 0.05),not the histological grade. The positive expression rate of livin in the para-cancerous tissues was 5.6%. Conclusion:Aberrant expression of livin may be a new target for the diagnosis and gene treatment of esophageal cancer.