Purpose: This study initially explored the expression of GDF-15 in gallbladder carcinoma and its clinical significance, and analyzed the correlation between the expression of GDF-15 and the clinicopathological features as well as the prognosis of patients with gallbladder carcinoma.
Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the expression of GDF-15 in the serum of 42 patients with gallbladder cancer. The control group included 24 patients with cholecystitis and 20 healthy volunteers. The immunohistochemical method (IHC) was used to detect the expression of GDF-15 in 42 cases of gallbladder tumor tissue and 35 cases of adjacent non-tumor gallbladder tissue specimens.
Results: The results of ELISA showed that the concentration of GDF-15 in serum was considerably higher in gallbladder cancer patients than that in gallbladder benign lesions and healthy volunteers (p=0.006, p<0.001). In the group of patients with gallbladder cancer, the consistence of GDF-15 in patients with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that of patients without lymph node metastasis (p<0.001). Immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of GDF-15 in gallbladder carcinoma was markedly higher than that in non-tumor gallbladder tissues (p=0.003), and the high expression of GDF-15 was significantly correlated with the differentiation grade of gallbladder carcinoma and tumor TNM stage (p=0.005, p=0.002).
Conclusion: GDF-15 is related to the occurrence and development of gallbladder cancer. GDF-15 in serum can be used as a potential marker for the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer and can be used to predict the lymph node metastasis of gallbladder cancer.