FADD expression is associated with regional and distant metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

AIMS: The Fas-associated death domain gene (FADD) is often overexpressed in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC), and is considered to be a driver gene in amplification of the chromosomal 11q13.3 region. Amplification of 11q13.3 is associated with increased metastasis in HNSCC and breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between FADD protein expression in advanced-stage HNSCC and clinicopathological features and outcome. METHODS AND RESULTS: Tumour tissues of 177 HNSCC patients uniformly treated with primary surgery and postoperative radiotherapy were collected. FADD expression was assessed on pretreatment tumour biopsies using immunohistochemistry. High FADD expression was detected in 44% of the HNSCC patients. High expression was associated with an increased rate of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001) and with a shorter distant metastasis-free interval (DMFI) (HR 2.6, 95% CI 1.0-6.7, P = 0.046) when lymph node metastases were present. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that an increase in FADD expression is associated with a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis at presentation, and with shorter DMFI when lymph node metastases are present. High FADD expression in the primary tumour could be a useful marker to select patients for systemic treatment strategies that reduce the risk of distant metastases.

The phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 mediates radiosensitivity in head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND: For locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC), the recurrence rate after surgery and postoperative radiotherapy is between 20 and 40%, and the 5-year overall survival rate is approximately 50%. Presently, no markers exist to accurately predict treatment outcome. Expression of proteins in the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway has been reported as a prognostic marker in several types of cancer. METHODS: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of proteins in the EGFR pathway in HNSCC. For this purpose, we collected surgically resected tissue of 140 locally advanced head and neck cancer patients, all treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. RESULTS: In a multivariate analysis, expression of the phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) was significantly related to worse locoregional control (LRC; HR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.6; P=0.03), independent of lymph node metastases (HR: 5.6, 95% CI: 1.2-27.4; P=0.03) and extranodal spread (HR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.2-6.5; P=0.02). In vitro clonogenic radiosensitivity assays confirmed that overexpression of PTEN resulted in increased radioresistance. CONCLUSION: Our study is the first report showing that expression of PTEN mediates radiosensitivity in vitro and that increased expression in advanced HNSCC predicts worse LRC.

Overexpression of intrinsic hypoxia markers HIF1alpha and CA-IX predict for local recurrence in stage T1-T2 glottic laryngeal carcinoma treated with radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: To examine the prognostic value of three endogenous hypoxia markers (hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha subunit [HIF1 alpha], carbonic anhydrase IX [CA-IX], and glucose transporter type 1 [GLUT-1]) on the clinical outcome in patients with early-stage glottic carcinoma primarily treated with radiotherapy (RT) and to determine the predictive hypoxic profile to choose the optimal treatment of early-stage laryngeal carcinoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Immunohistochemistry for HIF1 alpha, CA-IX, and GLUT-1 was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, pretreatment tissue samples of 91 glottic squamous cell carcinoma specimens. The patient group consisted only of those with early-stage (T1-T2) glottic carcinoma, and all patients were treated with RT only. Relative tumor staining was scored on the tissue samples. Receiver operating curve analysis was performed to determine the optimal cutoff value for each tumor marker. Cox regression analyses for the variables HIF1 alpha, CA-IX, GLUT-1, gender, age, hemoglobin level, T category, N category, tobacco use, and alcohol use were performed with local control and overall survival as endpoints. RESULTS: HIF1 alpha overexpression in early-stage glottic carcinoma correlated significantly with worse local control (hazard ratio [HR], 3.05; p = 0.021) and overall survival (HR, 2.92; p = 0.016). CA-IX overexpression correlated significantly with worse local control (HR, 2.93; p = 0.020). GLUT-1 overexpression did not show any correlation with the clinical outcome parameters. Tumors with a nonhypoxic profile (defined as low HIF1 alpha and low CA-IX expression) had significantly better local control (HR, 6.32; p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: The results of our study have shown that early-stage glottic laryngeal carcinomas with low HIF1 alpha and CA-IX expression are highly curable with RT. For this group, RT is a good treatment option. For tumors with HIF1 alpha or CA-IX overexpression, hypoxic modification before RT or primary surgical treatment should be considered.