title: Expression characteristics of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) in tongue carcinoma and its correlation with poor prognosis.
abstract: Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) expression is increased in diverse human cancers and plays a vital role in tumorigenesis and progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic features and prognostic significance of AEG-1 in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (TSCC). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to examine AEG-1 protein expression in paraffin-embedded tissues from 93 patients with TSCC. Real-time PCR and western blot analyses were employed to examine AEG-1 expression in 4 pairs of primary TSCC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues from the same patient. Immunohistochemical results revealed that the positive rate for AEG-1 in TSCC tissues (48.39%, 45/93) was higher than that in the normal tongue tissues (10.00%, 3/30) (P < 0.001). These results were further confirmed between TSCC tissues and matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues by Western blot and RT-PCR. Simultaneously, AEG-1 protein level was positively correlated with differentiation degree (P < 0.001), clinical stage (P < 0.001), T classification (P = 0.007) and N classification (P = 0.012). Furthermore, patients with higher AEG-1 expression had shorter overall survival time. Multivariate analysis (Cox regression) also suggested that AEG-1 expression was an independent prognostic indicator for TSCC (P = 0.043). Our results indicate that AEG-1 expression is closely associated with carcinogenesis and progression of TSCC, and may represent a novel and valuable predictor for prognostic evaluation of TSCC patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Province Guangdong, PR China.
authors.forename: Zun-Fu
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Shanyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Shuhua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dongyuan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Chongjin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Wenwen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015996:Survival Rate; D014059:Tongue / Q000378:metabolism*; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; C483039:MTDH protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins