title: The prognostic value of Tiam1 protein expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common cancer worldwide and has a poor prognosis. A biomarker predicting the clinical outcome of HNSCC patients could be useful in guiding treatment planning. Overexpression of the T lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1 (Tiam1) protein has been implicated in the migration and invasion of neoplasms. However, its role in HNSCC progression needs to be further validated. We detected the expression of Tiam1 in normal and tumor tissues and determined its association with clinical outcomes in patients with HNSCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the expression of Tiam1 in normal and cancerous tissue samples from the patients with HNSCC treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between 2001 and 2008. The Tiam1 expression was scored from 0 to 12 based on the percentage of positively stained cells and the staining intensity. We then determined the diagnostic performance of this score in predicting overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 194 evaluable patients, those with advanced disease, lymph node metastasis at diagnosis, and recurrence or metastasis during follow-up had a higher tendency of having high Tiam1 expression as compared with their counterparts (P < 0.05). The proportion of samples with high Tiam1 expression was also higher in cancerous tissues than in non-cancerous tissues (57.7% vs. 13.9%, P < 0.001). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that Tiam1 expression scores of 5 and greater independently predicted short OS and DFS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Tiam1 expression is shown as a promising biomarker of clinical outcomes in patients with HNSCC and should be evaluated in prospective trials.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. yanghang@sysucc.org.cn.|Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. yanghang@sysucc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. caiych@sysucc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Yu-Chen
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. caoye@sysucc.org.cn.|Clinical Trial Center, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. caoye@sysucc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. songming@sysucc.org.cn.|Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. songming@sysucc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. anxin@sysucc.org.cn.|Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. anxin@sysucc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. xiayi@sysucc.org.cn.|Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. xiayi@sysucc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Ruikang Hospital, Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530000, P. R. China. 86319505@qq.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. jiangwq@sysucc.org.cn.|Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. jiangwq@sysucc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Wen-Qi
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. 18825136065@sina.cn.|Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, P. R. China. 18825136065@sina.cn.
authors.forename: Yan-Xia
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D016019:Survival Analysis; D000075684:T-Lymphoma Invasion and Metastasis-inducing Protein 1
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D000075684:T-Lymphoma Invasion and Metastasis-inducing Protein 1; C087334:TIAM1 protein, human