| 1. |
- Sgaramella, Nicola, et al.
(author)
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Ethnicity based variation in expression of E-cadherin in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue
- 2018
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In: Oncology Letters. - : Spandidos Publications. - 1792-1074 .- 1792-1082. ; 16:5, s. 6603-6607
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The oral tongue is the most common site for tumours within the oral cavity. Despite intense research, there has been no improvement in the survival rate for patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) during the last decades. Differences between oral cancer patients based on ethno-geographical distribution have been reported. The present study used immunohistochemistry to evaluate commonly used markers of cancer cell phenotypes, E-cadherin, -catenin and cytokeratins 5 and 19, in 120 patients with OTSCC. To evaluate the impact of ethnicity, patients from Sweden and Italy were included. A higher proportion of Swedish patients exhibited high expression of E-cadherin in their tumours (P=0.039), and high levels of E-cadherin in Swedish OTSCC patients that had succumbed to their disease were associated with poor prognosis. These data demonstrated differences in the pathological characteristics of OTSCC between two different European populations. The findings emphasise the need to take ethnicity/geographical location of patients into account when comparing results from different studies of OTSCC.
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| 2. |
- Sgaramella, Nicola, et al.
(author)
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High expression of podoplanin in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue occurs predominantly in patients ≤ 40 years but does not correlate with tumour spread
- 2016
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In: The Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2056-4538. ; 2:1, s. 3-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- More than 30% of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the mobile tongue have clinically undetectable lymph node metastasis. Tumour cells can spread as single cells or collectively. A protein known to play a role in both processes is podoplanin, which is expressed in endothelial cells not only in lymph vessels but also in some aggressive tumours with high invasive and metastatic potential. Here we studied samples from 129 patients with primary SCC of the tongue for expression of podoplanin using immunohistochemistry. mRNA levels were analysed in another 27 cases of tongue SCC with adjacent clinically tumour-free tongue tissue and 14 tongue samples from healthy donors. Higher levels of podoplanin were seen in tumours compared to both normal tongue and clinically normal tongue in the tumour vicinity. No association was found between levels of podoplanin, presence of lymph node metastases or other clinical factors. Patients aged 40 or less were more likely to express high levels of podoplanin protein compared to older patients (p 50.027). We conclude that levels of podoplanin in primary tongue SCCs are not associated with lymph node metastases. However, tongue SCCs arising in young patients (40 years of age) are more likely to express high levels of podoplanin than tongue SCCs that arise in the more elderly. The data suggest that podoplanin has a distinctive role in young patients, who are known to have a poor prognosis: these patients may, therefore, benefit from podoplanin inhibitory therapies.
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| 3. |
- Sgaramella, Nicola, et al.
(author)
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Searching for new targets and treatments in the battle against squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, with specific focus on tumours of the tongue
- 2018
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In: Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry. - : Bentham Science Publishers. - 1568-0266 .- 1873-4294. ; 18:3, s. 214-218
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, SCCHN, is a heterogeneous group of tumours not only concerning the site of origin but also regarding aetiology. The 5-year survival for the whole group of SCCHN tumours has not significantly improved over the last 20-25 years. Apart from tumour spread to lymph nodes, N status, gains and losses of specific chromosomes are the only factors shown to be independent prognostic markers for these tumours. Worldwide, an increasing number of people ≤ 40 years are seen being affected by tongue SCC, the most common tumour within the SCCHN group. Even without any clinical signs of metastasis, up to 30% of all tongue SCC have histologically detectable spread to lymph nodes. In this mini review, field cancerization, tumour microenvironment, the so called EMT (epithelial mesenchymal transition) process and the role of viruses in development of SCCHN are discussed as well as potential new therapeutic targets. For the group of tongue SCC, with the increasing incidence seen in young patients and particularly women, new data with impact on prognosis and treatment are urgently needed. But as long as data from the analyses of several sub sites are presented as valid for the whole group of tumours, this vital point is missed.
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| 4. |
- Strindlund, Klas, et al.
(author)
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Patients with high c-MYC-expressing squamous cell carcinomas of the tongue show better survival than those with low- and medium-expressing tumours
- 2017
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In: Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0904-2512 .- 1600-0714. ; 46:10, s. 967-971
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Backgroundc-MYC is a potent oncoprotein with roles in a wide range of cellular processes such as differentiation, apoptosis and growth control. Deregulation of the MYC gene is commonly seen in human tumours resulting in overexpression of the protein. Here we studied expression of c-MYC in correlation to clinical outcome in patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile tongue. MethodsImmunohistochemistry was used to identify c-MYC in a group of 104 tongue squamous cell carcinomas with an antibody directed against the N-terminal part of the protein. Staining was evaluated by multiplying the percentage of c-MYC-expressing cells with staining intensity, giving a quick score for each tumour. ResultsAll 104 tumours expressed c-MYC at varying levels. Quantitation according to per cent of positive cells and staining intensity revealed that most (15/21; 71%) high-expressing tumours were seen in males. Within the group of high c-MYC-expressing tumours, the majority were alive 2 and 5 years after treatment. ConclusionsThe present findings show that expression of c-MYC has prognostic value in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, and could be useful in choice of therapy.
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| 5. |
- Wilms, Torben, et al.
(author)
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No evidence for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus in squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile tongue
- 2017
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 12:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) comprises a large group of cancers in the oral cavity and nasopharyngeal area that typically arise in older males in association with alcohol/tobacco usage. Within the oral cavity, the mobile tongue is the most common site for tumour development. The incidence of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is increasing in younger people, which has been suggested to associate with a viral aetiology. Two common human oncogenic viruses, human papilloma virus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are known causes of certain types of SCCHN, namely the oropharynx and nasopharynx, respectively. EBV infects most adults worldwide through oral transmission and establishes a latent infection, with sporadic productive viral replication and release of virus in the oral cavity throughout life. In view of the prevalence of EBV in the oral cavity and recent data indicating that it infects tongue epithelial cells and establishes latency, we examined 98 cases of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile tongue and 15 cases of tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma for the presence of EBV-encoded RNAs (EBERs), EBV DNA and an EBV-encoded protein, EBNA-1. A commercially available in situ hybridisation kit targeting EBER transcripts (EBER-ISH) showed a positive signal in the cytoplasm and/or nuclei of tumour cells in 43% of TSCCs. However, application of control probes and RNase A digestion using in-house developed EBER-ISH showed identical EBER staining patterns, indicating non-specific signals. PCR analysis of the BamH1 W repeat sequences did not identify EBV genomes in tumour samples. Immunohistochemistry for EBNA-1 was also negative. These data exclude EBV as a potential player in TSCC in both old and young patients and highlight the importance of appropriate controls for EBER-ISH in investigating EBV in human diseases.
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