Focal adhesion kinase overexpression: correlation with lymph node metastasis and shorter survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) has been identified as a key mediator in tumor progression. The objective of this study was to determine the role of FAK as a predictor of neck node metastasis and poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs).


METHODS
FAK expression in normal oral mucosa and in 69 OSCCs was examined by immunohistochemistry, and the percentage of stained cells was recorded. The correlation of these findings with clinicopathologic variables and survival was studied.


RESULTS
FAK expression in OSCCs was heterogeneous: 33.3% of cases showed weak expression; 23.2%, moderate expression, and 33.3% cases showed high expression. FAK expression significantly correlated with tumor size (p = .010), neck node metastasis (p = .01), and local tumor recurrence (p = .01). FAK expression was an independent prognostic factor in the survival analysis (p = .017).


CONCLUSIONS
Increased expression of FAK may play a role in invasiveness and metastasis of OSCCs, which contribute to poor prognosis and low survival.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad de Oviedo, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. jvicente@.uniovi.es
Juan Carlos
JC
de Vicente
Pablo
P
Rosado
Paloma
P
Lequerica-Fernández
Eva
E
Allonca
Lucas
L
Villallaín
Gonzalo
G
Hernández-Vallejo
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases