Published in:
01-02-2011 | Original Paper
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ in mobile tongue squamous cell carcinoma: associations with clinicopathological parameters and patients survival
Authors:
Stamatios Theocharis, Jerzy Klijanienko, Constantinos Giaginis, Jose Rodriguez, Thomas Jouffroy, Angelique Girod, Daniel Point, Gerasimos Tsourouflis, Xavier Satre-Garau
Published in:
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
|
Issue 2/2011
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Abstract
Purpose
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor, implicated in various aspects of cancer biology, such as differentiation, proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of PPAR-γ in mobile tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
Methods
PPAR-γ protein expression was assessed immunohistochemically on 49 mobile tongue SCC tissue samples obtained from an equal number of patients. PPAR-γ expression and intensity of immunostaining were statistically analyzed in relation with clinicopathological characteristics, mitotic index and patients’ survival.
Results
Elevated PPAR-γ expression was more frequently observed in patients with reduced depth of invasion (P = 0.0111). Moderate/intense PPAR-γ staining intensity was more frequently observed in patients with no evidence of muscular infiltration (P = 0.0229) and reduced depth of invasion (P = 0.0176). Mobile tongue SCC patients presenting enhanced PPAR-γ expression had significantly longer overall and disease-free survival times compared to those with low PPAR-γ expression (log-rank test, P = 0.0162 and P = 0.0114, respectively).
Conclusions
PPAR-γ immunoreactivity in mobile tongue SCC was correlated with clinicopathological characteristics crucial for patients’ management and prognosis. PPAR-γ may be considered as a useful prognostic marker in mobile tongue SCC and a potential therapeutic target for tongue cancer chemoprevention and treatment.