Expression and Clinical Significance of Concomitant FAK/SRC and p-Paxillin in Mobile Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
The focal adhesion kinase (FAK)/SRC phosphorylation cascade and its downstream target paxillin have been implicated in malignant transformation, tumor growth and progression, together with metastasis. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of concomitant FAK/SRC and p-paxillin expression in mobile tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).



FAK, SRC and phospho-paxillin expression in 48 mobile tongue SCC tissue samples was assessed immunohistochemically and analyzed with respect to clinicopathological characteristics and patient survival.



Concomitant high FAK/SRC expression was significantly associated with high grade of tumor differentiation (p=0.048) and longer disease-free patient survival (log-rank test, p=0.019). High p-paxillin expression was significantly associated with greater depth of invasion (p=0.002), lymph node metastasis (p=0.048) and poorer disease-free patient survival (log-rank test, p=0.021; Cox-regression analysis, p=0.031).



The present study provides evidence that FAK/SRC and paxillin play a role in the pathophysiological aspects of mobile tongue SCC and could constitute therapeutic targets.
Department of Pathology, Curie Institute, Paris, France.|First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Stamatios
S
Theocharis
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece i.kotta-loizou13@imperial.ac.uk.|Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, U.K.
Ioly
I
Kotta-Loizou
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.|Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of the Aegean, Lemnos, Greece.
Constantinos
C
Giaginis
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Paraskevi
P
Alexandrou
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Eugene
E
Danas
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Gerasimos
G
Tsourouflis
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Nikolaos
N
Tsoukalas
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, U.K.
Robert H A
RH
Coutts
First Department of Pathology, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Jason
J
Tasoulas
Department of Pathology, Curie Institute, Paris, France.
Jerzy
J
Klijanienko
D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051419:Paxillin / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019061:src-Family Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
D051419:Paxillin; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D019061:src-Family Kinases
FAK; Mobile tongue squamous cell carcinoma; SRC; clinicopathological parameters; immunohistochemistry; paxillin; prognosis