Gelsolin, NF-κB, and p53 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma: Impact on outcome

ObjectivesTo examine the prognostic significance of Gelsolin, NF-κB, and p53 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CRCC), which has an unpredictable behavior and tendency for recurrence and metastasis.Materials and methodsImmunohistochemistry was performed on 100 consecutive cases of CRCC using antibodies against Gelsolin, NF-κB, and p53. Tumors were grouped by nuclear grade (NG) as low NG (NG1, 2) or high NG (NG3, 4), and by pathological stage as localized (pT1, 2) or locally invasive (pT3, 4). Clinical stage was grouped as early stage (stage I, II) or late stage (stage III, IV). Evaluation was based on cytoplasmic (NF-κBCyt) and nuclear (NF-κBNuc) expression for NF-κB, nuclear expression for p53, membranous and cytoplasmic expression for Gelsolin.ResultsGelsolin expression correlated with high NG (p = 0.001), metastasis (p = 0.003), late stage (p = 0.008), and cancer death (p = 0.001). NF-κBCyt expression correlated with high NG (p = 0.002), perirenal invasion (p = 0.010), local invasion (p = 0.020), and late stage (p = 0.003). NF-κBNuc expression failed to predict the prognosis of CRCC. p53 expression correlated with high NG (p = 0.045), lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.05), metastasis (p = 0.001), late stage (p = 0.028), and cancer death (p = 0.034). However, only Gelsolin was found to correlate with disease-specific survival, (p = 0.006), and neither NF-κB nor p53 showed such relation.ConclusionExpressions of Gelsolin, NF-κBCyt, and p53 associated with aggressive behavior of CRCC, while Gelsolin expression specifically indicated poor disease-specific survival. The results of the present study served to determine biomarkers for predicting high-risk patients with CRCC, expected to show aggressive phenotype.