The clinical implication of tumoral Gal-1 expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the expression of tumoral Gal-1 in association with clinical parameters and outcome in a large population with laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (LSCCs).


METHODS
A total of 187 patients with LSCC were retrospectively enrolled. Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the tumoral expression of Gal-1, apoptosis-related proteins and the density of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in tumor tissues before any intervene. Survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences in survival between groups were determined using the log-rank test. Prognostic effects were evaluated by Cox regression analysis.


RESULTS
A total of 102 carcinomas (54.5 %) were identified as high Gal-1 expression, and 85 carcinomas (45.5 %) as low expression. Tumoral Gal-1 expression was not significantly related with clinical stage and histology differentiation. No correlation of Gal-1 expression with apoptosis-related protein was identified. Instead, Gal-1 status was correlated positively with the ratio of FOXP3(+)/CD8(+) TILs (P = 0.024). In multivariate regression analysis, advanced clinical stage and the presence of metastases were identified as the independent predictors for poor survival in entire cohort. Especially, the statistical correlation between the Gal-1 expression and prognosis was particularly due to the late-stage tumors (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Current results represent valuable advancements in Gal-1 research and provided further support for using Gal-1 as a diagnostic biomarker and immunotherapeutic target for LSCC.
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 600 Tianhe Street, Guangzhou, 510630, Guangdong, China. yejin_sums@yahoo.com.cn
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001549:Benzamides / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism
D001549:Benzamides; D014443:Tyrosine; C012614:1-nitrohydroxyphenyl-N-benzoylalanine