EB-D fibronectin expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

ED-B fibronectin (ED-B FN), a glycoprotein involved in cell adhesion and migration, is expressed in fetal and neoplastic tissues and absent in their normal counterparts. The aim of this study is to evaluate the expression of this glycoprotein in relation to the histological and clinical data and to determine whether it has a prognostic value in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Ninety-five cases were assessed for ED-B FN expression using immunohistochemistry. Positive ED-B FN expression was significantly associated with tumor grade (p=0.06) and primary tumor site (p=0.02). The larynx was the tumor site associated with the least ED-B FN expression. In univariate analysis, there was no association with disease-free survival (p=0.48), but the mean time to progression was clearly shorter in tumors with positive ED-B FN expression than in those with negative expression (6 vs. 11 months). Patients having tumors expressing the ED-B FN had a trend to a significant lower overall survival in the multivariate analysis (p=0.06). Our study showed that ED-B FN expression might have a prognostic value in patients with HNSCC.

Human achaete-scute homologue (hASH1) mRNA level as a diagnostic marker to distinguish esthesioneuroblastoma from poorly differentiated tumors arising in the sinonasal tract.

Distinction of high-grade esthesioneuroblastomas from other poorly differentiated tumors arising in the nasal cavity is an important diagnostic challenge because it determines patient management and prognosis. The human achaete-scute homologue (hASH1) gene is critical in olfactory neuronal differentiation and is expressed in immature olfactory cells; therefore, it could have potential use as a diagnostic marker The aim of the present study was to determine the value of hASH1 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in differentiating esthesioneuroblastoma from other poorly differentiated tumors. A real-time polymerase chain reaction assay was developed, permitting the comparative determination of hASH1 mRNA levels in triplicate in a double-blind pilot study including 24 frozen cases of esthesioneuroblastoma and poorly differentiated tumors. All 4 positive cases were esthesioneuroblastomas, and all 19 poorly differentiated tumors were negative. In addition, there was an inverse association between the grade of esthesioneuroblastomas and hASH1 mRNA levels. The hASH1 mRNA level might represent a useful tool for distinguishing esthesioneuroblastoma from poorly differentiated tumors of the sinonasal region.

Immunohistochemical expression of 14-3-3 sigma protein in human urological and gynecological tumors using a multi-tumor microarray analysis.

14-3-3 sigma is an exclusive epithelial marker and data on its expression in different malignancies are very scarce. The aims of the present study are to screen its expression in the most common neoplasms occurring in the urological and gynecological tract and to evaluate its use as a diagnostic marker. A tissue microarray was constructed using 350 samples from 13 different neoplasms. Immunohistochemical analysis using a polyclonal 14-3-3 sigma antibody was performed. Overall, this protein was positive in 141 and negative in 209 tumors. The most frequent expression was seen in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and urothelial bladder carcinoma, followed by prostatic and endometrial adenocarcinoma. 14-3-3 sigma was able to distinguish prostate adenocarcinoma from urothelial bladder carcinoma, with an odds ratio of 0.028 (P = 0.001; 95% CI, 0.0003-0.222), and distinguish seminoma from embryonal carcinoma of the testis, with an odds ratio of 0.061 (P = 0.009; 95% CI, 0.007-0.5014). It also has a good value in differentiating renal clear cell carcinoma from papillary carcinoma, with an odds ratio 0.470 (P < 0.001; 95% CI, 0.008-0.261). 14-3-3 sigma seems to have good potential use as an epithelial marker, after confirmation with further targeted studies. Finally, as with all immunohistochemical markers, we can optimize the utility of this protein to distinguish tumor mimics by including it in an appropriate immunohistochemical panel.

Downregulation of 14-3-3sigma in ovary, prostate and endometrial carcinomas is associated with CpG island methylation.

The 14-3-3sigma inhibitor of cell cycle progression has been shown to be target of epigenetic deregulation in many forms of human cancers; however, its role in urological and gynecological cancers has not been studied. Here, we have analyzed the expression of 14-3-3sigma, wild-type p53 and mutated p53 in over 300 cases of the most common cancers occurring in the urological and gynecological tracts and its normal counterpart tissue by immunohistochemistry using the multiple tumor tissue microarrays. 14-3-3sigma expression was detected in normal epithelia from most organs with sporadic expression in renal tubules and absence in the testis. In contrast to normal tissue, 14-3-3sigma expression was lost in 40-60% of adenocarcinomas of the breast, ovary, endometrium and prostate. There was no association between 14-3-3sigma and wild-type/mutated p53 expression. By performing methylation-specific PCR, we showed a close association of 14-3-3sigma CpG island methylation and low protein expression levels of 14-3-3sigma. In addition, a direct link of 14-3-3sigma mRNA expression levels to CpG island methylation is demonstrated in two human cancer cell lines. Loss of 14-3-3sigma expression due to promoter hypermethylation may represent the most frequent molecular aberration in ovarian, endometrial and prostate adenocarcinomas.