title: Intratumoural expression of thymidylate synthase is an independent predictor of prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: results from a retrospective study.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the importance of immunohistochemical thymidylate synthase (TS) expression level as a prognostic marker in tongue cancer patients. In 140 patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue, intratumoural TS expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The level of TS expression was determined by a semiquantitative scoring system, ranging from 1+ to 3+ according to the ratio of TS-positive cells. Of 140 patients, 64 (45.7%), 49 (35.0%) and 27 (19.3%) were assessed as 1+, 2+ and 3+, respectively. Univariate analyses demonstrated that both disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were significantly lower in patients with a TS 3+ tumour than in those with a TS 1+/2+ tumour (DFS: P = 0.0082, OS: P = 0.0100). In a multivariate analysis using the Cox regression model, cervical lymph-node status and TS expression level were selected as independent factors for DFS and OS. Maintenance adjuvant chemotherapy by oral 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) significantly improved DFS and OS in patients with a TS 1+/2+ tumour (DFS: P = 0.0027, OS: P = 0.0398). These data suggest that the level of immunohistochemical TS expression is an independent prognosticator in patients with tongue SCC, and may be useful in the selection of patients who would benefit from oral 5-FU adjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: The Kyushu Research Group for TS in Oral Cancer, Japan. kekawano@med.oita-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kusukawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sunagawa
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shiba
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikemura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugihara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inokuchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mimura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000556:secondary; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D013940:Thymidylate Synthase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D013940:Thymidylate Synthase; D005472:Fluorouracil