Expression of SOX7 and ZEB1 in pancreatic cancer and their relationship with prognosis
Hao Fatao
Li Jianyin
Meng Yong
Wang Xiangyu
Yu Wanying
Abstract：Objective To analyze the expression levels of SRY box-related gene 7(SOX7)and zinc finger E-box binding protein 1(ZEB1)in pancreatic cancer tissues and their relationship with patient prognosis.Methods A total of 115 patients with pancreatic cancer admitted to the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery,East Campus,Jinan Central Hospital from January 2021 to April 2022 were included in the study.During surgery,both cancerous and adjacent tissues were resected from the patients,and the expression levels of SOX7 and ZEB1 proteins in the tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry.Pa-tient pathological characteristics were collected.The patients were followed up for 3 years,during which 48 patients survived and 67 patients died.Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify prognostic factors.The relationship be-tween SOX7 and ZEB1 expression levels and prognosis was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results Compared with adjacent tissues,the positive expression rate of SOX7 in cancer tissues decreased,while the positive expression rate of ZEB1 increased(x2/P=28.186/＜0.001).Compared with pancreatic cancer patients without lymph node metastasis,with stage Ⅰtumors,and invasion depth of Tis-T2,the positive expression rate of SOX7 in patients with lymph node metastasis,stage Ⅲtumors,and invasion depth of T3-4 was decreased(x2/P=4.973,9.534,45.083/0.026,0.009,＜0.001),while the positive ex-pression rate of ZEB1 increased(x2/P=7.547,40.573,7.952/0.006,＜0.001,0.005).The 3-year survival rate of patients with positive SOX7 expression(36/44,81.82％)was higher than that of patients with negative SOX7 expression(12/71,16.90％)(x2=47.077,P＜0.001).The 3-year survival rate of patients with positive ZEB1 expression(31/95,32.63％)was lower than that of patients with negative ZEB1 expression(17/20,85.00％)(x2=18.633,P＜0.001).Positive expression of ZEB1 was identified as a risk factor for death in pancreatic cancer patients,while positive expression of SOX7 was a protective factor[HR(95％ CI)=0.409(0.282-0.592),2.341(1.655-3.312)].Conclusion The positive rate of SOX7 is decreased and that of ZEB1 is increased in pancreatic cancer.Changes in the expression of both are closely related to patient prognosis.
Keywords：Pancreatic cancerSRY-box containing gene 7Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox protein 1Clinical pathological featuresPrognosis
Publication Date：2025-11-18
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-05(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1318-1322 )