title: Relaxin-2 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  When advanced, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) may involve adjacent non-epithelial structures, and the prognosis is worse for bone invasion. Human relaxin-2 is a peptide hormone that has recently been associated with cancer. It can induce human osteoclast differentiation and activation, suggesting a role in tumor-driven osteolysis. This study was a preliminary assessment of the prognostic role of relaxin-2 in surgical specimens of OSCC tissue and adjacent but uninvolved mandibular/maxillary bone.
  
  
  METHODS
  Relaxin-2 immunohistochemical expression and reaction intensity were assessed in tumor and uninvolved adjacent mandibular/maxillary bone specimens from 23 operated OSCC patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All OSCC specimens were positive for relaxin-2. The intensity of its reaction in OSCC correlated significantly with the pattern of the tumor's invasion front (p = 0.02), being higher with the infiltrative pattern. Mean relaxin-2 immunohistochemical expression was higher in patients whose OSCC recurred after treatment than those experiencing no recurrence (81.3% ± 22.6% vs. 59.5% ± 29.7%, respectively). A significant direct association emerged between relaxin-2 expression in OSCC specimens and recurrence rate (p = 0.049).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relaxin-2 expression in OSCC should be further investigated as a potentially useful marker for identifying patients at higher risk of recurrence, who might benefit from closer follow-up and more aggressive adjuvant therapy. In other oncological settings, increasing evidence of relaxin being produced by cancer cells is prompting efforts to synthesize human relaxin-2 analogs capable of acting as antagonists and limiting tumor growth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marioni
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Carlo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ottaviano
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine DIMED, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cappellesso
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bedogni
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marchese-Ragona
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stritoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Padua University, Padua - Italy.|Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Treviso Hospital, Treviso - Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zanoletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Niccolò
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Favaretto
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine DIMED, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valentini
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Apolloni
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine DIMED, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giacomelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine DIMED, Padua University, Padua - Italy.
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blandamura
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D012065:Relaxin / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: C095068:RLN2 protein, human; D012065:Relaxin