title: The role of tumour FoxP3 as prognostic marker in different subtypes of head and neck cancer.
abstract: Expression of the forkhead transcription factor (FoxP3)--an established marker of regulatory T cells--has been found in other cell types as well, including tumour cells. Recent studies indicated that high tumour FoxP3 expression might be associated with a poor outcome of patients with several types of solid cancers. Here, we investigated the role of FoxP3 expressed by the tumour cells in the prognosis of larynx and oro-hypopharynx squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC and OHSCC)--two major subtypes of head and neck cancer. To this end, we analysed by immunohistochemistry the expression of tumour FoxP3 in tissues from 83 LSCC and 89 OHSCC patients in relation to overall survival. In multivariate analysis we found that high tumour FoxP3 expression significantly associated with poor survival in OHSCC but not in LSCC patients. In further studies, we combined the prognostic value of FoxP3 with selected markers of inflammation (cyclooxygenase-2; COX2) or with markers of enhanced tumour migration/invasion (AHNAK and CORTACTIN). Interestingly, we found that the combination of FoxP3 and AHNAK (in LSCC) or FoxP3 and CORTACTIN (in OHSCC) had significantly stronger prognostic values than either marker analysed individually. Combination of FoxP3 and COX2 enhanced the prognostic accuracy only in OHSCC. Thus, our study identifies novel individual and combination markers that might have enhanced and distinct prognostic relevance in different subtypes of head and neck cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weller
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology/Neuropathology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bankfalvi
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dominas
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Götz F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Lehnerdt
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Marchioninistrasse 15-25, 81377 Munich, Germany; Research Unit Gene Vectors, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Marchioninistrasse 15-25, 81377 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zeidler
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brandau
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122 Essen, Germany. Electronic address: claudia.dumitru@uni-due.de.
authors.forename: Claudia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Dumitru
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D051356:Cortactin / Q000378:metabolism; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: C075176:AHNAK protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051356:Cortactin; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2
keywords: AHNAK; Biomarker combinations; CORTACTIN; COX2; Head and neck cancer; Overall survival; Prognosis; Tumour FoxP3