Expression of LAPTM4B-35: A novel marker of progression, invasiveness and poor prognosis of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

LAPTM4B was proven to overexpress in hepatocellular carcinoma and relate to differentiation. We immunohistochemically investigated the expression and potential clinicopathological and prognostic significance of LAPTM4B encoded protein, LAPTM4B-35, in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) for specimens from consecutive 81 patients. LAPTM4B-35 staining was positive in cancer tissues from 59 patients (72.8%), including 12 with score 1, 22 with score 2 and 25 with score 3. No positive staining was found in non-cancer epithelia. The staining score in cancer tissues was not only significantly associated with TNM staging, histological grade, perineural and lymph node invasion (P < 0.05), but also of comprehensive prognostic implications, including integrated estimation with CA19-9. These data established that LAPTM4B-35 positively expressed in a great portion of EHCC and might be a novel molecular maker of progression, invasiveness and poor prognosis.