Korean J Pathol.
2014 Aug;48(4):263-269. 10.4132/KoreanJPathol.2014.48.4.263.
The Clinicopathological Significance of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition Associated Protein Expression in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea. ispap@inha.ac.kr
- 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
- 3Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea. limjh@inha.ac.kr
- KMID: 1719559
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.4132/KoreanJPathol.2014.48.4.263
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) has an important role in invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the roles of EMT-associated proteins on progression and metastasis as a prognostic/predictive factor in curatively-resected (R0) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
METHODS
A total of 118 patients who received curative surgery for HNSCC at Inha University Hospital between January 1996 and December 2011 were included. We used protein immunohistochemistry to evaluate the expression of E-cadherin, vimentin, and EZH2 on tissue microarrays. Also, we reviewed all medical records and analyzed the relationship between the expression of EMT-associated proteins and prognosis.
RESULTS
The E-cadherin-negative group showed more moderate/poor differentiation of cancer cell type than the higher E-cadherin-expressing group (p=.016) and high EZH2 expression was significantly correlated with nodal metastasis (p=.012). Our results demonstrate a significant association between high expression of EZH2 and vimentin and presence of distant progression (p=.026). However, expression of E-cadherin, vimentin, and EZH2 was not significantly associated with overall survival.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that an EMT-associated protein expression profile is correlated with aggressiveness of disease and prognosis, and could be a useful marker for determination of additional treatment in curatively-resected HNSCC patients.
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