title: Plectin as a prognostic marker in non-metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is associated with a poor 5-year survival rate. In general, patients diagnosed with small tumors have a fairly good prognosis, but some small tumors have an aggressive behavior leading to early death. There are at present no reliable prognostic biomarkers for oral cancers. Thus, to optimize treatment for the individual patient, there is a need for biomarkers that can predict tumor behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study the potential prognostic value of plectin was evaluated by a tissue microarray (TMA) based immunohistochemical analysis of primary tumor tissue obtained from a North Norwegian cohort of 115 patients diagnosed with OSCC. The expression of plectin was compared with clinicopathological variables and 5 year survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The statistical analysis revealed that low expression of plectin in the tumor cells predicted a favorable outcome for patients with non-metastatic disease (p = 0.008). Furthermore, the expression of plectin was found to correlate (p = 0.01) with the expression of uPAR, which we have previously found to be a potential prognostic marker for T1N0 tumors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that low expression of plectin predicts a favorable outcome for patients with non-metastatic OSCC and the expression level of plectin may therefore be used in the treatment stratification for patients with early stage disease.
authors: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway. oddveig.rikardsen@unn.no.|Department of Medical Biology - Tumor Biology Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. oddveig.rikardsen@unn.no.
authors: Oddveig G
authors: OG
authors: Rikardsen
authors: Department of Medical Biology - Tumor Biology Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. synnove.magnussen@uit.no.
authors: Synnøve N
authors: SN
authors: Magnussen
authors: Department of Medical Biology - Tumor Biology Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. gunbjorg.svineng@uit.no.
authors: Gunbjørg
authors: G
authors: Svineng
authors: Department of Medical Biology - Tumor Biology Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. elin.hadler-olsen@uit.no.
authors: Elin
authors: E
authors: Hadler-Olsen
authors: Department of Medical Biology - Tumor Biology Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. lars.uhlin-hansen@unn.no.|Department of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of North Norway, N-9038, Tromsø, Norway. lars.uhlin-hansen@unn.no.
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Uhlin-Hansen
authors: Department of Medical Biology - Tumor Biology Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. Sonja.steigen@unn.no.|Department of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of North Norway, N-9038, Tromsø, Norway. Sonja.steigen@unn.no.
authors: Sonja E
authors: SE
authors: Steigen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D055806:Microvessels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D051190:Plectin / Q000032:analysis*; D011379:Prognosis; D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C495332:PLEC protein, human; D051190:Plectin; D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator