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01-12-2013 | Original Article

ATG9A overexpression is associated with disease recurrence and poor survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Authors: Jen-Yang Tang, Edward Hsi, Ya-Chun Huang, Nicholas Chung-Heng Hsu, Yuk-Kwan Chen, Pei-Yi Chu, Chee-Yin Chai

Published in: Virchows Archiv | Issue 6/2013

Abstract

ATG9A is an integral membrane protein required for autophagosome formation and a membrane carrier in the autophagy pathways. The present study was designed to investigate the expression of ATG9A in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Clinically annotated tumor specimens from 90 patients with OSCC were subjected to immunohistochemistry using an antibody against ATG9A and immunoreactivity was scored using an immunoreactivity score (IRS). Scores were compared with clinical and pathologic data to assess association with outcome. Overexpression of ATG9A was defined as an IRS of ≥9 by receiver operating characteristics curve analysis and was identified in 25 (28 %) of 90 cases. ATG9A overexpression was associated with disease recurrence and overall survival (OS) in both univariate (p = 0.030 and 0.025, respectively) and multivariate (p = 0.026 and 0.038, respectively) Cox analyses. Kaplan–Meier plots also showed that patients with ATG9A overexpression had shorter 3-year OS (p = 0.017) and time to recurrence (p = 0.021) than those with low ATG9A expression. These results suggest that the presence of ATG9A in the cytoplasm of tumor cells may be an independent biomarker for disease recurrence and survival in patients with OSCC.

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Title: ATG9A overexpression is associated with disease recurrence and poor survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Jen-Yang Tang
Edward Hsi
Ya-Chun Huang
Nicholas Chung-Heng Hsu
Yuk-Kwan Chen
Pei-Yi Chu
Chee-Yin Chai
Publication date: 01-12-2013
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Virchows Archiv / Issue 6/2013
Print ISSN: 0945-6317
Electronic ISSN: 1432-2307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-013-1482-5

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ATG9A overexpression is associated with disease recurrence and poor survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

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Abstract

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