Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor (uPAR) and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) Are Potential Predictive Biomarkers in Early Stage Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OSCC) |
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Authors: | Synn?ve Magnussen Oddveig G Rikardsen Elin Hadler-Olsen Lars Uhlin-Hansen Sonja E Steigen Gunbj?rg Svineng |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.; 2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.; 3. Diagnostic Clinic – Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.; Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, |
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Abstract: | Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is often associated with metastatic disease and a poor 5 year survival rate. Patients diagnosed with small tumours generally have a more favourable outcome, but some of these small tumours are aggressive and lead to early death. To avoid harmful overtreatment of patients with favourable prognosis, there is a need for predictive biomarkers that can be used for treatment stratification. In this study we assessed the possibility to use components of the plasminogen activator (PA) system as prognostic markers for OSCC outcome and compared this to the commonly used biomarker Ki-67. A tissue-micro-array (TMA) based immunohistochemical analysis of primary tumour tissue obtained from a North Norwegian cohort of 115 patients diagnosed with OSCC was conducted. The expression of the biomarkers was compared with clinicopathological variables and disease specific death. The statistical analyses revealed that low expression of uPAR (p = 0.031) and PAI-1 (p = 0.021) in the tumour cells was significantly associated with low disease specific death in patients with small tumours and no lymph node metastasis (T1N0). The commonly used biomarker, Ki-67, was not associated with disease specific death in any of the groups of patients analysed. The conclusion is that uPAR and PAI-1 are potential predictive biomarkers in early stage tumours and that this warrants further studies on a larger cohort of patients. |
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