Prognostic significance of the expression of CD98 (4F2hc) in gastric cancer

Background: CD98 expression is high in various human neoplasms. However, the relationship of CD98 expression with the clinicopathological factors of gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. This study examined CD98 expression and its clinicopathological impact on GC. Patients and Methods: Three hundred and thirty-one patients with surgically resected GC were evaluated. Tumor sections were stained and analyzed using immunohistochemistry to assess CD98 expression. Results: CD98 was positively expressed in 19% (66/331) of our patient cohort. Increased CD98 expression was significantly associated with advanced GC stage, lymph node metastasis, non-signet histology, lymphatic permeation, and vascular invasion. Positive CD98 expression was also a significant prediction marker for unfavorable prognosis postoperatively. However, CD98 was not identified as GC's independent prognostic predictor. Conclusion: CD98 could be a novel prediction marker for worse prognosis in GC-affected patients. Our data suggests that increased CD98 expression plays an essential role in tumor aggressiveness and metastasis.