title: Fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in laryngeal carcinoma is associated with the expression of glucose transporter-1 and hypoxia-inducible-factor-1α and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B pathway.
abstract: High fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake by human carcinomas, including head and neck cancers, is associated with a poor prognosis. Glucose transporter-1 (Glut-1) is believed to be an intrinsic marker of hypoxia in malignant tumors. The expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and correlated target genes, including Glut-1, is regulated by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway. However, it remains unclear whether the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is involved in regulating FDG uptake directly. In the present study, 24 consecutive patients with laryngeal carcinoma were examined pre-operatively and the standardized uptake values (SUV) of the laryngeal carcinomas were determined. Glut-1, HIF-1α, PI3K and phosphorylated-Akt (p-Akt) expression was detected by immunohistochemical staining of paraffin sections from the tumor specimens. Associations among SUVmax, Glut-1, HIF-1α, PI3K and p-Akt protein expression and the other clinical parameters were analyzed. The univariate analyses revealed a significantly shorter survival time along with higher HIF-1α (P=0.018) and PI3K (P=0.008) expression, but the survival time was not significantly correlated with Glut-1 or p-Akt expression. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that higher SUVmax(P=0.043) and PI3K expression (P=0.012) were significantly correlated with a poor survival time. Spearman's rank analysis showed significant correlations between SUVmaxand HIF-1α (r=0.577; P=0.003), PI3K (r=1.0; P<0.0001) and p-Akt (r=0.577; P=0.003) expression. PI3K was associated with poorly- and moderately-differentiated laryngeal carcinoma (P=0.012). In conclusion, a high SUVmaxindicates a poor prognosis for laryngeal carcinoma. Also, a high SUVmaxmay be associated with the increased expression of Glut-1, HIF-1α, PI3K and p-Akt.
authors.affiliation: Department of PET Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of PET Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shu-Ye
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shui-Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of PET Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Meng Jie
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yang-Yang
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong-Tian
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Yao
keywords: fluorodeoxyglucose; glucose transporter-1; hypoxia inducible factor-1α; laryngeal carcinoma; phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B signal pathway; prognosis