title: Catenin expression in T1/2 carcinomas of the floor of the mouth.
abstract: Reduction of the expression of catenin is a crucial step in the pathogenesis, progression and prognosis of many epithelial cancers including squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Catenin expression in oral carcinomas was evaluated in relation to clinico-pathological features in order to determine its value as a prognostic marker. Eighty-five patients with histologically proven T1/2 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral floor who underwent surgical treatment were eligible for the study. A tissue microarray consisting of multiple representative tissue cores of each carcinoma was composed. The expression levels of alpha, beta and gamma-catenins were determined immunohistologically. Correlation between clinical features and the expression of catenin proteins was evaluated statistically using Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests and chi(2)-tests. Loss of alpha-catenin expression in carcinoma of the floor of the mouth correlated significantly with poor prognosis (P=0.05). Conversely, significantly reduced rates of lymph-node metastases were observed in alpha- and beta-catenin-positive T1 and T2 SCCs. Loss of gamma-catenin expression indicated a reduced survival rate in nodal-negative tumours (P=0.02). Catenin expression in carcinomas of the floor of the mouth seems to be a predictive parameter in the prognosis of T1 and T2 SSCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Muenster, Waldeyerstr. 30, D-48129 Münster, Germany. fillies@uni-muenster.de
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fillies
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Buerger
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaertner
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: August
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Joos
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Werkmeister
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051177:Catenins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009060:Mouth Floor / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051177:Catenins