Low mRNA expression levels of kallikrein-related peptidase 4 (KLK4) predict short-term relapse in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
Several members of the family of tissue kallikrein and kallikrein-related peptidases have been suggested as promising tumor biomarkers with important prognostic significance. However, only one (KLK11) has already been studied in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) as a potential biomarker for LSCC diagnosis and/or prognosis. Our study investigated the prognostic value of kallikrein-related peptidase-4 (KLK4) mRNA expression as a molecular tissue biomarker in LSCC. For this purpose, KLK4 mRNA expression analysis was performed in 116 cancerous and 74 paired non-cancerous laryngeal tissue specimens obtained from patients that had undergone surgical treatment for primary LSCC. A remarkable downregulation of KLK4 mRNA expression was discovered in laryngeal tumors, compared to non-cancerous laryngeal tissue specimens. KLK4 mRNA expression was also shown to distinguish LSCC from non-cancerous laryngeal tissues. Furthermore, low KLK4 mRNA expression was shown to predict poor disease-free survival, independently of the histological grade and size of the malignant tumor as well as patient TNM stage. According to Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, low KLK4 mRNA expression predicts short-term relapse even among patients with well-differentiated tumors or those at an early TNM stage. Thus, KLK4 mRNA positivity could be regarded as a novel independent indicator of favorable prognosis for the disease-free survival of LSCC patients.
Emmanouela
E
Foteinou
Christos K
CK
Kontos
Aris I
AI
Giotakis
Andreas
A
Scorilas
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000235:genetics; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007610:Kallikreins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D007830:Larynx / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012372:ROC Curve
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007610:Kallikreins; C120801:kallikrein 4