Antibody responses to survivin and their clinical significance in patients with head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND: Survivin is highly expressed in cancer cells but shows little or no expression in normal tissues. Little is known about antibody responses to survivin in patients with head and neck cancer. METHODS: Anti-survivin antibody responses in patients with head and neck cancer were investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti-p53 antibody and squamous cell carcinoma antigen were also examined. RESULTS: Sera from 69 of 97 patients (71.1%) were positive for anti-survivin, with a cutoff value (absorbance; >0.673) with healthy control subjects. High levels of anti-survivin were detected in patients with advanced stage. Interestingly, levels of anti-survivin fell after curative treatment. In addition, 24 of 26 (92.3%) tested patients were positive for at least 1 of 3 markers. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that survivin may act as a major cancer antigen in head and neck cancer. Anti-survivin antibody responses may be a valuable marker in patients with head and neck cancer.

Clinical significance of elevated osteopontin levels in head and neck cancer patients.

OBJECTIVES: Osteopontin (OPN) is associated with several human malignancies, but the role of OPN in head and neck cancer (HNC) remains unclear. We investigated the clinicopathologic relevance of serum OPN levels in HNC patients. METHODS: Serum OPN levels in HNC patients were determined by quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay (EIA). OPN levels and their correlation with clinical features were examined. In addition, serum squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen was examined simultaneously. RESULTS: The mean OPN level was significantly higher in HNC patients (99.5 ng/ml) than in control subjects (55.3 ng/ml). OPN levels were significantly higher in patients with advanced stage HNC than in patients with early stage HNC. OPN levels did not correlate with SCC antigen levels. CONCLUSIONS: OPN may play a role in the pathogenesis of head and neck cancer (HNC), and serum OPN may be a potential biomarker of HNC.

Nasal vaccination with CpG oligodeoxynucleotide induces protective immunity against non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae in the nasopharynx.

OBJECTIVES: Nasal vaccination is an effective therapeutic regimen for preventing otitis media. Since cholera toxin (CT) is toxic, an alternative adjuvant is required for the development of a nasal vaccine. The efficacy of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) as a mucosal adjuvant was examined. METHODS: Mice were immunized intranasally with P6 protein of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) and adjuvant, CT, or CpG ODN, and P6-specific antibody responses were examined. The expression of P6-specific cytokine mRNA in splenic CD4 T cells was also determined. In addition, NTHi challenges were performed and the NTHi was quantified in nasal washes. RESULTS: P6-specific IgA in nasal wash and serum IgG titers were elevated significantly after nasal immunization. The IgG1/IgG2a ratio in serum from P6+CpG-immunized mice was less than that of P6+CT-immunized mice. Although IL-6 was expression similarly in both groups, IFN-gamma expression was greater in P6+CpG-immunized mice than in P6+CT-immunized mice. Enhanced clearance of NTHi from the nasopharynx was also shown equally in both groups. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that CpG ODN might be an effective mucosal adjuvant, acting by mechanisms that are different from CT. These findings suggest that nasal vaccination with P6 and CpG ODN might be an effective regimen for the induction of NTHi-specific protective immunity.