Osteopontin as biomarker in early invasion by squamous cell carcinoma in tongue.
BACKGROUND
Osteopontin (OPN) expression in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue has not been clearly elucidated.


METHODS
We selected 46 cases of tongue SCC and investigated the expression of OPN by immunohistochemical staining. The immunopositive reaction and score for each case were semiquantitatively evaluated.


RESULTS
Scores were significantly higher in carcinoma nests than in neighboring normal epithelium or epithelial dysplasia. The OPN was expressed clearly in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells. In cases of early invasive carcinoma, in particular, expression of OPN showed a remarkable increase at the invasion front compared with the non-invaded regions. However, there was no significant correlation between expression of OPN in the primary tumor nest and lymphatic metastasis, recurrence, or survival rate.


CONCLUSIONS
This suggests that OPN is a useful biomarker of early invasion by SCC in tongue.
Matsuzaki
H
H
Department of Pathology, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan.
Shima
K
K
Muramatsu
T
T
Ro
Y
Y
Hashimoto
S
S
Shibahara
T
T
Shimono
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D053495:Osteopontin / Q000032:analysis*; D015996:Survival Rate; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053495:Osteopontin