title: Glut-1 as a prognostic biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Glut-1 is a glucose transporter protein, the expression of which is upregulated in malignant cells which show increased glucose uptake. Alterations in expression of Glut-1 have been reported in several pre-malignant and malignant lesions. The objectives of the present study were to compare the expression of Glut-1 in normal persons and in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), to correlate the expression of Glut-1 with respect to clinical staging of OSCC and to evaluate the expression of Glut-1 with respect to different histopathological grades of OSCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty cases of OSCC were staged clinically and graded histopathologically. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of Glut-1 in OSCC and the same was compared with the normal subjects. The scores were compared using the chi-square test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Glut-1 expression was detected in all grades of OSCC. A significant correlation with a P value of 0.00004 was found in immunostaining between normal and OSCC. The expression of Glut-1 was significant when compared with different clinical stages with significant P value of 0.0004 and in different histopathological grades of OSCC with a P value of 0.00001.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher immunohistochemical staining scores were obtained with increased clinical staging and histopathological grades of OSCC. High expression of Glut-1 may be related to poor prognosis in OSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Mamata Dental College, Khammam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Jyotsna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Harshani
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Mamata Dental College, Khammam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Sivaranjani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yeluri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Mamata Dental College, Khammam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Venkateswara Rao
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Guttikonda
keywords: GLUT-1; oral squamous cell carcinoma; prognostic marker