title: Osteopontin expression is an independent factor for poor survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma: a computer-assisted analysis on TMA sections.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Osteopontin (OPN) is non-collagenous extracellular matrix protein involved in various physiological and pathological events, including tumor progression. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of OPN in normal oral mucosa and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to assess its prognostic significance.
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression of OPN was immunohistochemicaly analyzed in 86 OSCC and compared with clinicopathological variable such as tumor size, nodal stage, WHO clinical stage, Ki-67 proliferation index, and patients' outcome. OPN mRNA was analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR and compared with protein OPN expression and clinical outcome in 18 OSCC samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The expression of OPN protein was found in OSCC tumor cells (t-OPN) and various stromal cells (s-OPN). High level of t-OPN expression was associated with higher nodal stage (P = 0.045), higher WHO clinical stage (P = 0.033), and poor clinical outcome (P = 0.022). In multivariate analysis, t-OPN emerged as an adverse independent factor for survival (P = 0.049). Although correlated with t-OPN (P = 0.005), s-OPN was not significantly associated with clinical parameters, including patients' outcome. Also, there was no association between OPN and clinical parameters at the mRNA level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  OPN is upregulated in tumor and stromal OSCC cells. Tumor cell-derived OPN is involved in tumor progression and can independently predict the clinical outcome. Stromal-derived OPN probably has a different function compared with OPN secreted from tumor cells.
authors: Department of Pathology, Rijeka University School of Medicine, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors: Manuela
authors: M
authors: Avirović
authors: Koviljka
authors: K
authors: Matušan-Ilijaš
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: Damante
authors: Dora
authors: D
authors: Fabrro
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Cerović
authors: Mirna
authors: M
authors: Juretić
authors: Blaženka
authors: B
authors: Grahovac
authors: Nives
authors: N
authors: Jonjić
authors: Ksenija
authors: K
authors: Lučin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D053495:Osteopontin / Q000032:analysis*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D053495:Osteopontin
keywords: osteopontin; squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck; tissue array analysis