Expression of SOX4 significantly predicts the risk of lymph node metastasis for patients with early-stage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) stands as a notably aggressive malignancy within the digestive system. In cases of early esophageal cancer without lymph node metastasis, endoscopic surgical resection offers a viable alternative, often resulting in improved patient quality of life. However, the paucity of methods to preoperatively ascertain lymph node involvement complicates surgical planning. SOX4 gene was previously found to be highly associated with invasive metastasis in our work through scRNA-sequencing on 5 paired tumor/peritumor tissues. This research included the collection of 124 tissue samples from 106 patients (106 tumor and 18 lymph node specimens). Samples were methodically arranged into a tissue microarray and treated with immunohistochemical staining. Statistical analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between them. In the univariate analysis, three factors were identified as statistically significant in relation to lymph node metastasis: T category (p=0.014), vascular invasion (p<0.001), and SOX4 intensity (p=0.001). Additionally, when evaluating SOX4 intensity alongside other clinical indicators, SOX4 was shown to independently influence lymph node metastasis. Further, the multivariate analysis revealed that vascular invasion (p<0.001) and SOX4 intensity (p=0.003) were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, exhibiting Hazard Ratios of 10.174 and 7.142, respectively. The results of our study indicate that both SOX4 expression and vascular invasion serve as predictors of lymph node metastasis in patients diagnosed with category T1 ESCC, underscoring the potential utility of SOX4 in prognostic evaluations.