title: HIF-1alpha is a prognostic marker in oral squamous cell carcinomas.
abstract: The critical molecular regulator of hypoxia is the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1alpha). The prognostic impact of this regulator protein in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) has not been comprehensively investigated. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of HIF-1alpha in 82 patients with OSCC and to correlate it with their disease-specific survival. Immunohistochemical staining for HIF-1alpha was performed on 82 OSCC specimens using a standard immunoperoxidase technique. The expression of HIF-1alpha was correlated with poor disease-specific survival for OSCC patients. Patients with negatively or weakly HIF-1alpha-expressing tumors had a survival rate of 80%, whereas the survival decreased to only 33.6% in case of moderate or strong expression. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, we found a 3.5-fold increased risk of tumor-related death when HIF-1alpha was strongly expressed (p=0.016) compared to negative or weak expression of HIF-1alpha. We suggest HIF-1alpha is an independent prognostic marker in OSCC. Immunohistochemical detection of HIF-1alpha appears to be useful in the diagnosis of OSCC and to provide prognostic information in addition to TNM stage and histological grade.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany. aw.eckert.wissenschaft@web.de
authors.forename: Alexander W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schutze
authors.forename: Matthias H W
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lautner
authors.forename: Helge
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taubert
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bilkenroth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C497442:HIF1A protein, human; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit