Stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1 alpha) is a chemokine that has been reported to be involved in tumor progression in several malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate the crucial role of SDF-1 alpha in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who underwent esophagectomy. A total of 169 patients with ESCC were identified, including overexpression of SDF-1 alpha in 60 patients and low expression of SDF-1 alpha in 109 patients by immunohistochemical analysis. Two ESCC cell lines, TE1 and KYSE30, were selected to evaluate the tumor cell proliferative effect of SDF-1 alpha. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that high tumor (T) status, positive lymph node metastasis, tumors located in the upper esophagus, and SDF-1 alpha overexpression were significantly related to worse disease-free survival and overall survival. In addition, the two cell lines were treated with SDF-1 alpha, AMD3100 (an SDF-1 alpha -ligand receptor antagonist), and chemotherapeutic agents (cisplatin). Our in vitro study results showed that SDF-1 alpha promoted the proliferation of tumor cells, and blocking the SDF-1 alpha pathway displayed a growth inhibition effect in a dose-dependent manner. SDF-1 alpha plays an important role in the progression of ESCC and is an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients who underwent esophagectomy.
