Expression of survivin and its Relationship with Apoptosis and Biological Behaviors of Gastric Cancer

Background: Survivin, the new member of inhibitors of apoptosis protein, is re;expressed in almost all human cancer tissues and may be a novel target for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Aims: To investigate the expression of survivin and its relationship with apoptosis and biological behaviors of gastric cancer. Methods: Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT;PCR) was used to assess the expression of survivin mRNA in gastric cancer and paracancerous tissues, and survivin protein expression was detected by immunohistochemical assay. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase;mediated dUTP nick;end labeling (TUNEL) was employed to examine the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Results: Survivin mRNA and its protein were highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues. In contrast, no expression of survivin was detected in paracancerous tissues. The expression of survivin was not related to the size, sites, infiltration and lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer, but was correlated with the degree of tumor differentiation. Apoptosis was observed in all cancer tissues, but apoptotic index (AI) in survivin protein;positive tissues was significantly lower than that in survivin protein;negative tissues (2.5%±2.2% vs. 5.2%±2.7%, P0.05). Conclusions: The expression of survivin in gastric cancer tissues is up;regulated. Its expression is associated with the degree of tumor differentiation, and can inhibit the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Survivin might be a referenced indicator in evaluating the differentiation and predicting the prognosis of gastric cancer.