title: Human papillomavirus-stratified analysis of the prognostic role of miR-21 in oral cavity and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection plays a significant role in the development and progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Expression of miR-21 has a prognostic role in a wide variety of cancers. The upregulation of miR-21 suppresses a number of target genes, including phosphatase tensin homologue (PTEN) and programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4). We investigated the association between the expression of miR-21 and the clinical features of HNSCC using stratified analysis based on HPV infection status. HPV status and miR-21 expression in HNSCC tissues from 167 patients were evaluated using in situ hybridization. The expression of PDCD4 and PTEN was examined by immunohistochemistry. The up-regulation of stromal miR-21 expression occurred in 40.6% of HPV-negative samples and 28.3% of the HPV-positive group. In HPV-stratified multivariate analysis, high miR-21 expression was associated with poor cancer-specific survival in HPV-negative tumors, but not in HPV-positive tumors. There was a significant association between miR-21 and cytoplasmic PDCD4 overexpression in HPV-negative HNSCCs. We suggest that stromal miR-21 expression is an independent prognostic factor in HPV-negative tumors and miR-21 may play different roles depending on HPV infection status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Hye Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: Der Sheng
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Ho Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Eun Kyoung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Min Sik
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Han Hong
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Hyoung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Chan Kwon
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: human papillomavirus; miR-21; oral cavity; oropharynx; squamous cell carcinoma