Expression and clinical significance of connective tissue growth factor in advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer.
Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) has been reported to play critical roles in the tumorigenesis of several human malignancies. This study was performed to evaluate CTGF protein expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Surgical specimens from 76 primary HNSCC were obtained with written informed consents and the expression level of CTGF was immunohistochemically evaluated. The cytoplasmic immunoreactivity of CTGF in cancer cells was semiquantitatively classified into low and high expression. Among all 76 cases with or without neoadjuvant therapy, low CTGF showed significantly longer (P = 0.0282) overall survival (OS), but not disease-free survival (DFS) than high CTGF. Although low CTGF in patients with stage I, II and III did not result in any significant difference of the OS and DFS, stage IV HNSCC patients with low CTGF showed significantly longer OS (P = 0.032) and DFS (P = 0.0107) than those with high CTGF. These differences in stage IV cases were also confirmed using multivariate analyses. These results suggest that low CTGF in stage IV HNSCC is an independent prognostic factor, despite with or without neoadjuvant therapy.
Department of Molecular Surgical Oncology, Sasaki Institute, Sasaki Foundation, 2-2 Surugadai Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-0062, Japan, kikuchi@po.kyoundo.jp.
Ryoko
R
Kikuchi
Yoshihiro
Y
Kikuchi
Hitoshi
H
Tsuda
Hitoshi
H
Maekawa
Ken-Ichi
K
Kozaki
Issei
I
Imoto
Seiichi
S
Tamai
Akihiro
A
Shiotani
Keiichi
K
Iwaya
Masaru
M
Sakamoto
Takao
T
Sekiya
Osamu
O
Matsubara
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
C526317:CCN2 protein, human; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor