Downregulation of TESTIN and its association with cancer history and a tendency toward poor survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the role of TESTIN as a candidate tumor suppressor gene in head and neck carcinogenesis.


METHODS
Mutation and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression analyses.


METHODS
Academic research.


METHODS
Paired normal and tumor samples were obtained from 38 patients with primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.


METHODS
Analysis and comparison of TESTIN gene mRNA expression and its relationship to clinicopathologic variables.


RESULTS
Mutation analysis showed a nucleotide and amino acid change in 6 of the 38 tumor samples (16.0%). Semiquantitative mRNA expression analysis of TESTIN revealed a decreased expression in approximately 50% of the tumors compared with their matched normal controls. Interestingly, comparison of clinicopathologic variables to mRNA expression status of TESTIN revealed a significant difference in terms of cancer history (P = .03). Moreover, a higher smoking ratio and a family cancer history were also associated with downregulation of TESTIN, although the difference was not statistically significant (P = .43 and P = .16, respectively). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated a worse survival rate among the patients with low TESTIN expression compared with the patients with normal-high TESTIN expression.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that inactivation of TESTIN is involved in head and neck carcinogenesis through its downregulation. Further studies in various human cancer tissues using a large sample size and in vitro functional studies as well as clinical comparison research studies would give us a better evaluation of TESTIN's role and its possible future application in molecular diagnosis and treatment of different cancer types, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Gunduz
Esra
E
Department of Oral Pathology and Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
Gunduz
Mehmet
M
Beder
Levent
L
Nagatsuka
Hitoshi
H
Fukushima
Kunihiro
K
Sutcu
Recep
R
Delibas
Namik
N
Yamanaka
Noboru
N
Shimizu
Kenji
K
Nagai
Noriyuki
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D018450:Disease Progression; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D011379:Prognosis; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015996:Survival Rate; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C429688:TES protein, human; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins