Expression of SIP1 protein indicates poor prognosis in pharyngeal cancer
2014-11-14
(Press-News.org) The expression of SIP1 protein in pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma tumours often indicates an advanced tumour stage, a high risk of recurrence and a poor prognosis, according to research from the University of Eastern Finland. Based on the results, SIP1 is a potential new prognostic factor for clinical use, helping to single out patients with more aggressive tumour behaviour requiring more intensive therapy and closer follow-up. Ms Anna Jouppila-Mättö, MD, presented the results in her doctoral thesis.
Although pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is a rather rare disease, its incidence has been increasing over the past three decades, now accounting for 130,000 new cases and 80,000 cancer deaths worldwide. The prognosis is one of the poorest of all the head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and it has not improved to any significant extent, despite the availability of multimodal therapies. The main risk factors for PSCC are the use of tobacco and alcohol. Recently, the human papilloma virus (HPV) has been shown to be involved in the development and prognosis of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and many hospitals routinely test patients for HPV. No other distinct biomarkers for PSCC patient survival have been established thus far.
The first study to assess the role of EMT-related transcription factors in PSCC
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex cellular process which is not only crucial for embryogenesis, but it is also activated during tumour progression, enabling tumour cells to become invasive and to metastasise. Several transcription factors, like SNAI1, TWIST, SIP1, SLUG, and ZEB1, are fundamental in regulating EMT.
This study was the first to assess the role of EMT-related transcription factors in PSCC. The immunohistochemical expressions of transcription factors SNAI1, TWIST, SIP1, SLUG and ZEB1 were analysed in tumour cells, stromal and endothelial cell nuclei, as well as in cytoplasm of PSCC samples in an effort to evaluate the association of their expressions with clinicopathological variables and patient prognosis.
Tumours with positive epithelial nucleal SIP1 immunostaining were more advanced and had more lymph node metastases. The expression of SIP1 was also linked to poorer disease-specific five-year survival and was an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis together with tumour size and general patient status.
SNAI1 expression in endothelial cells predicted reduced survival and increased tumour size, whereas TWIST expression in stromal cells was linked to higher risk of recurrence. The co-expression of SNAI1, TWIST and SIP1 in tumour epithelial cell nuclei predicted poorer prognosis than SIP1 expression alone.
INFORMATION:
The results were originally published in Histology and Histopathology, and BMC Cancer.
For further information, please contact:
Anna Jouppila-Mättö, tel. +358500226224, anna.jouppila-matto (at) kuh.fi
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2014-11-14
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- A new study documents the stark health dangers of the male sex trade in the streets, hotels, and discotheques of Mexico City. Lead author and health economist Omar Galárraga's point in making the grim assessment of the legal but perilous market is to find an incentive that might reduce the spread of HIV and other diseases in the nation's community of men who have sex with men.
"It's a very highly at-risk population," said Galárraga, assistant professor of health services, policy and practice in the Brown University School ...
2014-11-14
Since the 1850's scientists have known that crystalline materials are organized into fourteen different basic lattice structures. However, a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) now reports that it has discovered an entirely new form of crystalline order that simultaneously exhibits both crystal and polycrystalline properties, which they describe as "interlaced crystals."
Writing in the Nov. 14 issue of the journal Nature Communications, the researchers describe finding this unusual arrangement of atoms while studying ...
2014-11-14
A team of Cardiff University researchers have made a breakthrough in helping scientists discover hundreds of black holes throughout the universe.
When two detectors are switched on in the US next year, the Cardiff team hope their research will help scientists pick up the faint ripples of black hole collisions millions of years ago, known as gravitational waves.
Black holes cannot be seen, but scientists hope the revamped detectors - which act like giant microphones - will find remnants of black hole collisions.
Led by Dr Mark Hannam from the School of Physics and Astronomy, ...
2014-11-14
(PHILADELPHIA) - Although radiation treatments have become much more refined in recent years, it remains a challenge to both sufficiently dose the tumor while sparing the surrounding tissue. A new anti-cancer drug, already in clinical development, may help address this issue by protecting normal cells - but not the cancer - from the effects of radiation. The research, published November 14th in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, further suggests this drug may also be useful in treating accidental exposure to radiation.
"It was a stroke of luck that the drug that most effectively ...
2014-11-14
Nonsmokers sitting in an automobile with a smoker for one hour had markers of significantly increased levels of carcinogens and other toxins in their urine, indicating that secondhand smoke in motor vehicles poses a potentially major health risk according to a groundbreaking study led by UC San Francisco researchers.
The nonsmoking passengers showed elevated levels of butadiene, acrylonitrile, benzene, methylating agents and ethylene oxide. This group of toxic chemicals is "thought to be the most important among the thousands in tobacco smoke that cause smoking-related ...
2014-11-14
Cancer Research UK scientists have found more than 400 'blind spots' in DNA which could hide cancer-causing gene faults, according to research published* today (Friday) in Cancer Research.
The researchers found hidden faults in areas that are tricky for gene-reading technology to decode. This technique, which unravels cancer's genetic blueprint, is an important part of the research that scientists carry out to understand more about cancer's biology.
By finding new ways to unlock these blind spots in the future, the researchers hope this will help us understand these ...
2014-11-14
"This summer has seen the highest global mean sea surface temperatures ever recorded since their systematic measuring started. Temperatures even exceed those of the record-breaking 1998 El Niño year," says Axel Timmermann, climate scientist and professor, studying variability of the global climate system at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
From 2000-2013 the global ocean surface temperature rise paused, in spite of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. This period, referred to as the Global Warming Hiatus, raised a lot ...
2014-11-13
What makes some women more susceptible to heart disease than others?
To help answer that question, researchers at Western University's Robarts Research Institute have identified that an estrogen receptor, previously shown to regulate blood pressure in women, also plays an important role in regulating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. LDL, also known as bad cholesterol, drives the process that leads to heart disease.
This finding provides evidence that the hormone estrogen plays a key role in regulating two of the most common risk factors for heart disease ...
2014-11-13
VIDEO:
A multi-institutional study has defined and established criteria for a new neurological disease closely resembling Alzheimer's disease called primary age-related tauopathy (PART). Patients with PART develop cognitive impairment that can...
Click here for more information.
LEXINGTON, Ky (Nov. 13, 2014) -- A multi-institutional study has defined and established criteria for a new neurological disease closely resembling Alzheimer's disease called primary age-related tauopathy ...
2014-11-13
HOUSTON, Nov. 13, 2014 - A team of University of Houston (UH) chemistry researchers have developed a molecule that assembles spontaneously into a lightweight structure with microscopic pores capable of binding large quantities of several potent greenhouse gases.
"Greenhouse gases, such a carbon dioxide, have received much attention lately because of their potential to dramatically affect Earth's climate, primarily the temperature of the planet," said Ognjen Miljanić, a UH associate professor of chemistry and leader of the team.
While carbon dioxide presents the ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Expression of SIP1 protein indicates poor prognosis in pharyngeal cancer
