Reduced syndecan-1 expression is correlated with the histological grade of malignancy at the deep invasive front in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Although many histopathological characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinoma (O-SCC) have been identified as prognostic factors, no factor is completely accurate and unequivocal. This study evaluated the association between the loss of syndecan-1 expression and the histological grade of malignancy at the deep invasive front in O-SCC.


METHODS
The expression of syndecan-1 at the invasive tumor front of O-SCC was examined immunohistochemically using archived tissue from 72 cases. The mean age of the patients was 62.5 years (range: 23-90 years) and the male-female ratio was 1.3:1 (41 men, 31 women). There were 26, 24, 11, and 11 cases classified as stages I-IV respectively. The correlation between the intensity of syndecan-1 immunostaining and the clinicopathological factors, especially the histological grade of malignancy at the deep invasive front (invasive front grade) was analyzed.


RESULTS
Of the 72 cases, seven (9.7%), 29 (40.3%), 36 (50.0%) showed strong, intermediate, and weak or negative syndecan-1 staining respectively. There were significant differences between syndecan-1 expression and prognosis, differentiation, and pattern of invasion at the deep invasive front. Moreover, the invasive front grade scores, based on the intensity of syndecan-1 staining, were 5.6 +/- 1.0, 8.0 +/- 2.1, and 10.2 +/- 2.3 points with strong, intermediate, and weak or negative intensity respectively; and the difference was significant (P < 0.0001). Patients with intermediate or strong intensity for syndecan-1 had significantly better prognoses than did those with negative or weak intensity (P = 0.0138).


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated that the reduced expression of syndecan-1 seems to be a useful marker of histological malignancy at the deep tumor invasive front and may be a useful prognostic factor in O-SCC.
Kurokawa
Hideo
H
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Miyazaki Medical College, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan. kurohide@fc.miyazaki-u.ac.jp
Zhang
Min
M
Matsumoto
Shinobu
S
Yamashita
Yoshihiro
Y
Tanaka
Toshiko
T
Takamori
Koichi
K
Igawa
Kaori
K
Yoshida
Maho
M
Fukuyama
Hiroshi
H
Takahashi
Tetsu
T
Sakoda
Sumio
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D019812:Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016019:Survival Analysis; D053668:Syndecan-1; D053667:Syndecans
D019812:Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D011509:Proteoglycans; C508241:SDC1 protein, human; D053668:Syndecan-1; D053667:Syndecans