Nuclear PKM2 expression predicts poor prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common tumors worldwide, with a high malignant degree and poor prognosis. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) expression and the prognosis of patients with ESCC. The expression of PKM2 in 86 cases of esophageal carcinoma tissues was tested using immunohistochemistry. The relationship between PKM2 expression and clinical pathological parameters, and their effects on the prognosis of patients with ESCC were analyzed. The expression levels of PKM2 in both cytoplasm and nucleus of ESCC tissues were significantly higher than those in paracancerous tissues (P = 6.73 × 10⁻⁹ and 4.32 × 10⁻⁶, respectively). The Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that nuclear PKM2 expression was closely related to the survival of patients with ESCC (P = 0.005). Patients with high PKM2 expression in the nucleus had significantly shorter survival times than those with low PKM2 expression in the nucleus (hazard ratio for death, 2.358; 95% confidence interval, 1.156–4.812; P = 0.018). No other significant difference was found between PMK2 expression and clinico-pathological features of ESCC patients (all P > 0.05). In conclusion, high PKM2 expression in the nucleus is essential in the pathogenic process of ESCC and may be used to predict the prognosis of patients with ESCC.