title: Expression of the tumour-suppressor maspin in temporal bone carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although it accounts for fewer than 0.2% of all head and neck tumours, temporal bone squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis in advanced cases. Novel therapeutic strategies should be developed focusing on specific targeted therapies. Maspin is a serpin showing tumour-suppressing activity which has therapeutic potential. The present study is the first to investigate maspin expression in temporal bone SCCs, using a series of 29 cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cytoplasmic maspin expression was significantly higher in the group of patients whose SCC did not recur than in the group experiencing recurrences (P = 0.029), and in G1-G2 SCCs than in G3 cases (P = 0.001). cT correlated with recurrence rate (P = 0.05), disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.008) and disease-specific survival (DSS) (P = 0.0043), and pT and pathological regional lymph node status correlated with recurrence rate (P = 0.008 and P = 0.03, respectively), DFS (P = 0.017 and P = 0.0049, respectively) and DSS (P = 0.008 and P = 0.0009, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although further studies using larger series are required, our preliminary findings suggest that cytoplasmic maspin expression has promise as a prognostic indicator of disease recurrence in temporal bone SCC, and that reactivating maspin functions in association with apoptosis-inducing or anti-angiogenic chemotherapeutic agents might be an important goal in the treatment of temporal bone SCC.
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Section, Department of Neurosciences, Padova University, Padova, Italy. gino.marioni@unipd.it
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marioni
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zanoletti
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stritoni
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lionello
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giacomelli
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gianatti
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blandamura
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mazzoni
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D015843:Serpins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D013701:Temporal Bone; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C085344:SERPIN-B5; D015843:Serpins; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
keywords: maspin; prognosis; subcellular location; targeted therapy; temporal bone carcinoma