title: Phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 immunohistochemical expression is associated with improved survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate whether the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression patterns of the tumor suppressor gene signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) and its active phosphorylated form (PSTAT1) serve as potential prognostic and predictive markers in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  STAT1 and PSTAT1 protein expressions were examined immunohistochemically in OSCC tumor tissues and adjacent normal mucosa from 49 patients who underwent primary surgery. The IHC scores were correlated with all available clinicopathologic parameters that were obtained from a maximum of 7 years of follow-up, including survival and response to adjuvant therapy treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a shift toward lower percentages of cells with STAT1 (P < .014) and PSTAT1 (P < .001) detected in OSCC tumors compared with adjacent normal tissue sites. No association with patients' clinicopathologic characteristics was shown. However, for the group of patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy, increased PSTAT1 intensity of staining in OSCC tumors was strongly associated with better overall survival (P = .008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to concurrently evaluate STAT1 and PSTAT1 IHC expression patterns and their prognostic significance in patients with OSCC, highlighting the potential role of PSTAT1 as a biomarker in therapeutic decision making. Large prospective studies are needed to verify these findings.
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, "Evaggelismos" Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: pappaelena@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pappa
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Pathology and Medicine, Dental School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nikitakis
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vlachodimitropoulos
authors.affiliation: Resident in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, "Evaggelismos" Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Avgoustidis
authors.affiliation: Resident in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, "Evaggelismos" Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vlasios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Oktseloglou
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, "Evaggelismos" Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Papadogeorgakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor / Q000032:analysis*; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor; C494079:STAT1 protein, human