title: Expression of haptoglobin predicts recurrence in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We determined whether expression of haptoglobin by head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells is associated with prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Western blotting was carried out to investigate the expression of haptoglobin in oral cancer cell lines. We study patients with HNSCC without distant metastasis at diagnosis. Correlation between cellular haptoglobin and clinical characteristics of HNSCC was analyzed to assess the prognostic value of cellular haptoglobin level. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank test were used to evaluate differences in recurrence, distant metastasis, and overall survival rates between patients grouped according to cellular haptoglobin level in cancer tissues. The relationship of haptoglobin expression with survival was assessed using Cox proportional hazard models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Western blotting analysis showed that haptoglobin protein was expressed in 4 oral cancer cell lines. The recurrence rate was higher in HNSCC patients with over-expression of haptoglobin (>50%) (P=0.045). Over-expression of haptoglobin was also associated with an increased risk for recurrence (hazard ratio [HR] 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.127-8.895; P=0.029) after adjusting for age, gender, disease site, stage, and treatment modality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Altogether, the data presented show that cellular expression of haptoglobin is closely related to recurrence rate in HNSCC patients. The elevated risk of relapse was confirmed in a multivariate analysis. The cellular expression of haptoglobin may be a prognostic factor in HNSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Chih
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hsu-Chueh
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Moon-Sing
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Shih-Kai
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Chih-Chia
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yu-Chieh
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006242:Haptoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D006242:Haptoglobins