Reduced gamma-catenin expression and poor survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether reduced expression of alpha-, beta-, or gamma-catenin predicts poor survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).


METHODS
Immunohistochemical analyses of a retrospective cohort.


METHODS
University-affiliated hospital.


METHODS
One hundred twenty-four patients with OSCC.


METHODS
The prognostic value of gamma-catenin expression on disease-specific survival in different T and N category groups in patients with OSCC.


RESULTS
Reduced expression of gamma-catenin correlated with poor tumor differentiation of OSCC (P = .04). Patients with reduced gamma-catenin expression in the primary tumor had significantly more frequent lymph node metastasis than did patients with normal gamma-catenin expression (P = . 03). Reduced expression of gamma-catenin (004) but not of alpha-catenin (P = .25) or beta-catenin (P = .48) correlated with poor clinical outcome. Reduced gamma-catenin expression predicted poor disease-specific survival also in the 92 patients with T1 or T2 tumors (P = . 02). In multivariate analysis, advanced T category (P = . 04), neck lymph node metastases (P = . 01), and reduced gamma-catenin expression (P = . 05) were independently related to poor survival.


CONCLUSIONS
Reduced expression of gamma-catenin was associated with poor differentiation of OSCC, with neck lymph node metastases, and, more importantly, with poor disease-specific survival. Loss of gamma-catenin expression seems to contribute to metastatic properties of OSCC. Evaluation of the expression pattern of gamma-catenin may be useful for predicting outcome in patients with OSCC.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital and University of Kuopio, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. mervi.narkio-makela@kuh.fi
Mervi
M
Närkiö-Mäkelä
Matti
M
Pukkila
Erja
E
Lagerstedt
Jukka
J
Virtaniemi
Risto
R
Pirinen
Risto
R
Johansson
Ari
A
Kosunen
Katriina
K
Lappalainen
Kirsi
K
Hämäläinen
Veli-Matti
VM
Kosma
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D051178:alpha Catenin / Q000378:metabolism; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism; D051185:gamma Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
D051178:alpha Catenin; D051176:beta Catenin; D051185:gamma Catenin