Expression of glucose transporter-1 and -3 in the head and neck carcinoma--the correlation of the expression with the biological behaviors.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine the biological significance of glucose transporter (Glut)-1 and Glut-3 expression in head and neck carcinoma (HNC).


METHODS
We detected expression of Glut-1 and -3 in 38 HNCs and analyzed the relationship between increased expression and the biological behavior of HNCs.


RESULTS
The gene expression levels of Glut-1 and -3 in HNCs were significantly higher than those in adjacent cancer tissues or in normal tissues. The GLUT-1 gene level was correlated with the lymph node metastasis and clinical stage of 38 HNCs, and the GLUT-3 gene level was correlated with the lymph node metastasis of 38 HNCs. Of the 38 cases, 30 showed positive expression of Glut-1 protein. The Glut-1 protein expression level was related to the lymph node metastasis and clinical stage of 38 HNCs. However, there was no case that expressed Glut-3 protein. The high expression of Glut-1 gene and protein was associated with poor survival in the HNCs. GLUT-3 gene expression was not associated with the prognosis of HNCs.


CONCLUSIONS
GLUT-1 gene expression level and protein expression were correlated with lymph node metastasis, poor survival and clinical stage of HNCs. The GLUT-3 gene expression level was high in HNCs, and its expression was associated with an increased incidence of lymph node metastasis of HNCs.
Zhou
Shuihong
S
Department of Otolaryngology, First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.
Wang
Shenqing
S
Wu
Qiuliang
Q
Fan
Jun
J
Wang
Qinying
Q
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D051274:Glucose Transporter Type 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; D051274:Glucose Transporter Type 3