title: High expression of leucine zipper-EF-hand containing transmembrane protein 1 predicts poor prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Leucine zipper-EF-hand containing transmembrane protein 1 (LETM1) is a mitochondrial inner membrane protein and plays an important role in mitochondrial ATP production and biogenesis. High expression levels of LETM1 have been correlated with numerous human malignancies. This study explored the clinicopathological significance of LETM1 expression as a prognostic determinant in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). HNSCC samples from 176 patients were selected for immunohistochemical staining of LETM1 protein. Correlations between LETM1 overexpression and clinicopathological features of HNSCC were evaluated by Chi-squared tests and Fisher's exact tests, and relationships between prognostic factors and patient survival were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. Our results demonstrated that the strongly positive rate of LETM1 protein was 65.3% in HNSCC, which was significantly higher than in either adjacent nontumor tissue (25.0%) or normal squamous epithelia (6.7%). LETM1 overexpression correlated with poor differentiation, presence of lymph node metastasis, advanced stage, absence of chemoradiotherapy, and 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates in HNSCC. Further analysis showed that high LETM1 expression, advanced stage, and nonchemoradiotherapy were significant independent risk factors for mortality in HNSCC. In conclusion, LETM1 plays an important role in the progression of HNSCC and is an independent poor prognostic factor for HNSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cancer Research Center, Yanbian University Medical College, Yanji 133002, China ; Key Laboratory of Natural Resources of Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Yanbian University, Ministry of Education, Yanji 133002, China.
authors.forename: Liyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cancer Research Center, Yanbian University Medical College, Yanji 133002, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cancer Research Center, Yanbian University Medical College, Yanji 133002, China ; Key Laboratory of Natural Resources of Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Yanbian University, Ministry of Education, Yanji 133002, China.
authors.forename: Shuangping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Natural Resources of Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Yanbian University, Ministry of Education, Yanji 133002, China ; Department of Oncology, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji 133000, China.
authors.forename: Longzhen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cancer Research Center, Yanbian University Medical College, Yanji 133002, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cancer Research Center, Yanbian University Medical College, Yanji 133002, China ; Key Laboratory of Natural Resources of Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Yanbian University, Ministry of Education, Yanji 133002, China.
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cancer Research Center, Yanbian University Medical College, Yanji 133002, China ; Key Laboratory of Natural Resources of Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Yanbian University, Ministry of Education, Yanji 133002, China.
authors.forename: Zhuhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; C488528:LETM1 protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins