To investigate the expression and clinical significance of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and heat shock protein 90α (HSP90α) in cholangiocarcinoma.

The expression of PKM2 and HSP90α was detected in 54 cholangiocarcinoma tissues and 20 adjacent normal tissues using the EliVision^TM plus two-step method of immunohistochemistry (IHC). Serum concentrations of PKM2 and HSP90α were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 54 cholangiocarcinoma patients, 32 choledocholithiasis patients, and 25 healthy individuals. The correlations between the two markers and clinicopathological parameters were statistically analyzed. Data were processed using SPSS 22.0. Measurement data conforming to a normal distribution were expressed as (

The positive rates of PKM2 and HSP90α expression in cholangiocarcinoma tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent normal tissues (P<0.05). PKM2 expression was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (P<0.05). HSP90α expression was significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage (P<0.05). At 3 days preoperatively, serum levels of PKM2 and HSP90α in cholangiocarcinoma patients were significantly higher than those in choledocholithiasis patients and healthy individuals. At 10 days postoperatively, both were significantly lower than the preoperative levels (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in PKM2 between cholangiocarcinoma patients and choledocholithiasis or healthy individuals (P>0.05), whereas HSP90α remained higher in cholangiocarcinoma patients (P<0.05). At 3 days preoperatively, serum PKM2 and HSP90α levels in choledocholithiasis patients were higher than those in healthy individuals (P<0.05). Diagnostic accuracy analysis of serum PKM2 and HSP90α in cholangiocarcinoma showed that the combined detection had a sensitivity of 85.2% and a specificity of 72.0%. The Kappa test showed consistent expression between IHC and ELISA.

PKM2 and HSP90α levels are elevated in both tumor tissues and serum of cholangiocarcinoma patients, and their upregulation is closely associated with the malignant progression of cholangiocarcinoma. Combined detection of the two markers is valuable for the early diagnosis, therapeutic effect evaluation, and prognosis assessment of cholangiocarcinoma.