[Relationship between Tiam-1 expression and the biological behaviors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between the protein expression of T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis gene 1 (Tiam-1) and the biological behaviors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).


METHODS
Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expressions of Tiam-1 protein in 60 specimens of NPC tissue, 20 specimens of chronic nasopharyngitis (CN) tissue, and 6 tumor tissues from nude mice inoculated with metastatic human NPC cells.


RESULTS
The positivity rate and average score for Tiam-1 expression were significantly higher in NPC tissues than in CN tissue (63.33% vs 36.67%, 2.9167 +/- 1.3057 vs 0.7000 +/- 0.9234; chi(2)=20.429, P=0.001; t=7.0162, P=0.0000, respectively). No difference was found in Tiam-1 expression among NPC patients in different T stages (F=2.36, P=0.0811), while the expression differed significantly between the patients with lymph node metastasis and those without metastasis, and also between patients with organ metastasis and those without (P=0.0001). High Tiam-1 expressions were found in the tumor tissues in nude mice inoculated with metastatic NPC cells.


CONCLUSIONS
Tiam-1 expression is closely associated with the invasiveness and metastasis of NPC, indicating that Tiam-1 is an important factor that promotes the invasion and metastasis of NPC.
Zhang
Xiang-mei
XM
Department of Pathology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Jin
He
H
Chen
Juan-zhi
JZ
Yu
Li-na
LN
Li
Yu-fa
YF
Ding
Yan-qing
YQ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D000075684:T-Lymphoma Invasion and Metastasis-inducing Protein 1
D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; D000075684:T-Lymphoma Invasion and Metastasis-inducing Protein 1; C087334:TIAM1 protein, human; C513260:Tiam1 protein, mouse