Cytoplasmic accumulation of alpha-catenin is associated with aggressive features in laryngeal squamous-cell carcinoma.
Aberrations in the function of alpha-catenin (alpha-cat), the anchoring protein of E-cadherin, are believed to cause dysfunction of the cadherin-catenin complex, leading to disturbed cell-cell adhesion. It has been suggested that expression of alpha-cat in human tumours might be a better indicator of aggressive phenotype than expression of E-cadherin. The value of alpha-cat as a prognostic marker in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is unclear. To determine the potential prognostic significance of alpha-cat, paraffin-embedded samples from 159 patients with invasive carcinoma left in the section and with long-term follow-up were evaluated immuno-histochemically for alpha-cat expression, and the results were related to histopathological grade, tumour stage and survival. Two patterns of staining were observed: pure membranous staining (57%) and membranous staining with cytoplasmic involvement (43%). Cytoplasmic involvement of alpha-cat was associated with dedifferentiation, advanced tumour stage and nodal status. In addition, supra-glottic tumours showed more often cytoplasmic involvement of alpha-cat than glottic tumours. Patients with cytoplasmic involvement appeared to have a trend towards poor overall survival, though without statistical significance. These results suggest that cytoplasmic involvement of alpha-cat is associated with aggressive behaviour and metastatic phenotype of LSCC.
Department of Oncology, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland. pasi.hirvikoski@uku.fi
P
P
Hirvikoski
E J
EJ
Kumpulainen
J A
JA
Virtaniemi
H J
HJ
Helin
I
I
Rantala
R T
RT
Johansson
M
M
Juhola
V M
VM
Kosma
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016610:Tissue Embedding; D051178:alpha Catenin
C495273:CTNNA1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D051178:alpha Catenin