As a member of the S100 family, S100A2 is considered a candidate tumor-suppressor gene. Recently, p63 gene, a new member of the p53 gene family, has been studied in the fields of tumorigenesis, cell apoptosis and tissue growth. At present, few studies have been carried out on the expression and relationship of S100A2 and p63 in EC.
A research article to be published on September 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Professor Cao from Anhui Medical University, carried out a study which was based on in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical technology, to determine the expression of S100A2 and p63 in EC and their relationship to clinical pathological features，and to explore their roles in carcinogenesis and prognosis of EC.
The study showed that the expression of S100A2 protein was reduced and the expression of p63 protein was increased, and a negative correlation was observed between them. This indicated that S100A2 protein and p63 protein both play important roles in the carcinogenesis of EC. An investigation into the combined expression of S100A2 and p63 may be useful in early diagnosis and evaluating the prognosis of ESCC.