title: Overexpression of galectin-1 at the tumor invasion front is associated with poor prognosis in early-stage oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Metastasis is a final and eventually fatal step in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and typically accompanies a large primary tumor. Metastasis may also present from a small primary tumor and progress rapidly; therefore, early diagnosis is important for patients with small primary tumors. Galectin-1 is one significantly upregulated tumor-associated protein in many neoplasms. To determine the clinical significance of galectin-1, we analyzed its expression in clinical samples by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. Galectin-1 protein was significantly overexpressed in the tumor-associated stroma as well as the invasion front during early oral carcinogenesis (P<0.05). During the metastatic stage, the only significant immunoreactivity was at the tumor invasion front (P<0.05). Although galectin-1 mRNA was not significantly upregulated in the whole cancerous tissue, it was upregulated in stromal parts during early-stage OSCC and in epithelial parts at the metastatic stage. Survival analysis and a Cox's proportional hazards model showed that synchronous upregulation of galectin-1 protein and mRNA was correlated with worse disease-free survival in early-stage OSCC (P=0.024 and P=0.047, respectively). Our findings suggest that galectin-1 upregulation at the tumor invasion front might be a predictor of early metastasis in oral carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Fan
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Shyun-Yeu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lai-Ya
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Ching-Nan
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming-Heng
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yen-Chia
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yuh-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ying-Tai
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D018450:Disease Progression; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D037483:Galectin 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D037483:Galectin 1; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm