Decreased Srcasm expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in a Chinese population.

Src-family tyrosine kinases (SFKs) play critical roles in regulating cellular differentiation and proliferation. Src-activating and signaling molecule (Srcasm) is a novel molecule that down-regulates SFK activity and promotes cell differentiation. The aim of this study was to determine whether Srcasm expression was altered in esophageal squamous epithelial carcinoma compared with normal epithelium in a Chinese population. We examined Srcasm immunohistochemical staining in 30 cases in both normal esophageal epithelium and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from the same patient in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks. Srcasm protein expression levels are decreased in esophageal SCC compared to the esophageal normal epithelium. This pattern of Srcasm expression suggests that it may act as a negative regulator in esophageal SCC cell signaling.