Evaluation of serum HGF and CK18 levels in patients with esophageal cancer

Cytokeratins are thought to play a role in apoptosis. Cytokeratin 18 (CK18) is involved in the formation of intracellular cytoskeleton, and has been considered a promising apoptosis marker in gastrointestinal carcinomas. Growth factors, including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), may provide a microenvironment for malignant cells. In this study, we aimed to compare serum HGF and CK18 levels between esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients and healthy controls. The study included 41 adult patients (20 male, 21 female) diagnosed with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, with a mean age of 63.54 +/- 10.88 years (range, 41-82 years). We also recruited 39 age and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Venous blood samples were taken; serum HGF and CK18 concentrations were determined via ELISA. Results indicated that serum HGF levels were higher in patients (1.37 +/- 0.63 ng/mL) as compared to the healthy subjects (0.41 +/- 0.29 ng/mL). Similarly, serum CK18 levels were higher in the patient group (2.53 +/- 1.33 ng/mL) than in the control group (0.34 +/- 0.23 ng/mL) (P < 0.001). In addition, serum HGF and CK18 levels were positively correlated with metastasis stage, tumor stage, and disease stage of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate serum HGF and CK18 levels in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The results suggest that serum CK18 and HGF levels may be used as prognostic and disease monitoring biomarkers of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.