Aim
To investigate the correlation between nerve growth factor-tropomyosin-receptor-kinase (NGF-TrkA) signaling pathway and prognosis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC).
Conclusion
NGF-TrkA double higher expression is an independent prognostic factor in IHCC. NGF-TrkA pathway can promote IHCC progression, indicating that NGF-TrkA may become a potential drug target.
Methods
NGF and TrkA expression in 83 samples of IHCC was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Correlations between NGF-TrkA expression and clinicopathological features were analyzed by χ² test. Moreover, we evaluated the association between NGF-TrkA and overall survival by univariate and multivariate analysis. With experiments in vitro, we investigated the crucial role of NGF-TrkA on proliferation and invasion of IHCC cells with recombinant NGF-β stimulation.
Results
We found that NGF and TrkA expression was significantly related with differentiation (P = 0.024) and intraneural invasion (P = 0.003), respectively. Additionally, double higher expression of NGF and TrkA was identified as an independent prognostic factor in IHCC (P = 0.003). Moreover, we demonstrated that NGF-TrkA signaling pathway can promote IHCC proliferation and invasion.