Association of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 gene amplification with poor survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose To investigate whether FGFR1 gene amplification is associated with clinicopathologic characteristics and its potential impact on survival in patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods Five hundred fifty-six ESCC patients undergoing curative resection of ESCC were retrospectively studied. FGFR1 gene copy number was determined in microarrayed tumor samples using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. FGFR1 gene amplification status was prespecified as copy number ≥ 6 or FGFR1/CEN 8 ratio ≥ 2.2. FGFR1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method followed by the log rank test. Correlation with survival was examined using multivariate Cox regression. Results FGFR1 amplification was identified in 67 (12.1%) patients; these patients had significantly shorter OS (50.0 vs 32.0 months; log rank; P<0.001) as well as shorter DFS (47.0 vs 28.0 months; log rank; P<0.001) than those without FGFR1 amplification. Under a Cox proportional hazard model, FGFR1 amplification was associated with significantly shorter OS (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]=1.61; 95% CI, 1.10-2.43, P=0.004) and DFS (AHR=1.72; 95%CI, 1.15-2.48; P<0.001). Moreover, cases with high intratumoral FGFR1 expression showed significantly shorter OS and DFS than those with low FGFR1 expression. The frequency of FGFR1 amplification was significantly higher in heavy drinkers than in moderate and light drinkers. Conclusion FGFR1 amplification is an independent adverse prognostic factor in surgically resected ESCC. FGFR1 may be a promising therapeutic target in patients with ESCC.