title: Expression of CK19 is an independent predictor of negative outcome for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the prognostic role of CK19 expression in squamous cell carcinomas within a well-defined cohort of oral tongue cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In our retrospective study, we investigated 129 patients with tongue cancer that had suitable material for inclusion in a tissue microarray (TMA). Where possible, samples were taken from central and peripheral regions of the tumor to generate a representative sample of the tumor. The expression level of CK19 was assessed by immunohistochemical staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expression of CK19 in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue was identified as a negative predictor for overall survival (OS; p<0.000) and disease specific survival (DSS; p=0.001). No significant difference could be shown for disease free survival (DFS) between patients with positive and negative CK19 staining (p=.094).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first description of the highly significant role of CK19 in a selective, organ specific head and neck cancer cohort. Our results are of special importance against the background that CK19 positive carcinomas revealed a significantly poorer prognosis and therefore emphasize its prognostic and possible diagnostic role in tongue cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cranio-, Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jutta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Apel
authors.affiliation: Department of Cranio-, Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Desiree M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Schumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Studer
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rordorf
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Riesterer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Cantonal Hospital Chur, Chur, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rössle
authors.affiliation: Cancer Registry Zurich and Zug, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Dimitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Korol
authors.affiliation: Department of Cranio-, Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marius G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bredell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D053539:Keratin-19 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053539:Keratin-19
keywords: Ki-67; cytokeratin 19 (CK19); head and neck cancer (HNC); tongue cancer