Context: Advanced gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is a highly fatal disease with poor prognosis and few therapeutic alternatives. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays a central role in cell growth and homeostasis. Its regulation is frequently altered in various tumors and is an attractive target for cancer therapy; however, its status in GBC remains unclear.
Objective: To characterize immunohistochemical expression and prognostic significance of phospho-mTOR in advanced gallbladder carcinoma.
Design: Phospho-mTOR expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays containing 128 advanced GBCs and 99 cases of chronic cholecystitis, which were divided into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of metaplasia. To evaluate the association of the level of phospho-mTOR expression with clinical variables and patient survival, the advanced GBCs were classified as having low or high expression. Statistical analysis was performed by using a significance level of P < .05, and Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed for survival analysis.
Results: Immunostaining for phospho-mTOR was positive in 82 of 128 tumors (64.1%) and in 24% of chronic cholecystitis cases (16% nonmetaplasia and 32% with metaplasia) (P < .001). Survival analysis indicated that a high phospho-mTOR immunohistochemical expression was associated with poorer prognosis in patients with advanced GBC (P = .02).
Conclusions: Metaplasia is a common finding in chronic cholecystitis and is considered a precursor lesion of dysplasia. Our results suggest that the activation of mTOR occurs very early during the development of GBC, contributing to the carcinogenesis process. Phospho-mTOR expression is correlated with poor survival, supporting the potential of mTOR for targeted therapy.