Deregulation of decorin and FHL1 are associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression and poor prognosis.

To investigate the expression of FHL1 and Decorin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its clinical significance. 82 ESCC tissues were evaluated by immunohistochemistry for the expression of FHL1 and Decorin. The role of the expression of FHL1 and Decorin in ESCC were statistically analyzed. The expression level of FHL1 and Decorin were reduced in malignant tissue samples in comparison to normal matched tissue (P < 0.05). It was also proved that the positive expressions of FHL1 and Decorin were associated with ESCC histological grade, lymph node metastasis, tumor stage and clinical stage (P < 0.05). In addition, the Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that the positive expressions of FHL1 and Decorin were associated with favorable prognosis in ESCC patients. Multivariate analysis showed that the positive expressions of FHL1 and Decorin were independent prognostic markers of overall survival of ESCC patients, respectively. The positive expressions of FHL1 and Decorin were associated with ESCC progression and good prognosis. Our results indicate that the positive expressions of FHL1 and Decorin were independent prognostic factors for patients with esophageal cancer, which might be potential valuable biomarkers for ESCC.