P21 Immunohistochemical analysis of clinical and pathological relevance of LOXL4- and survivin expressions in oropharyngeal carcinomas

• Published in: Oral oncology Vol. 51; no. 5; p. e49
• Main Authors: Diercks, I, Görögh, T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2015
• Subjects: Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine; Otolaryngology
• ISSN: 1368-8375; 1879-0593
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2015.02.069

Introduction Gene expression analyses have shown the overexpression of both lysyloxidase isotype 4 (LOXL4) and survivin in oropharyngeal carcinomas in comparison to normal epithelial phenotype. The purpose of this study was to analyse comparatively LOXL4 and survivin expressions in oropharyngeal carcinomas with respect to their diagnostic, prognostic, and if appropriate therapeutic value. Material and methods 138 LOXL4- and survivin positive oropharyngeal carcinoma biopsies were confirmed by histopathological examination and analysed in relation to TNM staging, grading, and overall survival. The antibody reactivity was scored on a semi quantitative scale (negative expression, weak positive, moderately positive, and strong positive). Results Of the samples involved in the analysis 129 (93.5%) and 115 (83.3%) were LOXL4 and survivin positive respectively. Although the LOXL4 staining scores correlated with TNM staging ( p = 0.018), no correlations were found between LOXL4 expression and survival as well as metastatic rates. In contrast, surviving expression significantly correlated with both tumor grading ( p = 0.001) and nodal status ( p < 0.001), but not with overall survival ( p = 0.05). Conclusion In primary tumors the elevated survivin expression correlated both with progressive tumor growth and local lymph nodes. Therefore, its expression seems to be more suitable for the evaluation of tumor staging than the expression of LOXL4 which makes it more suitable as a diagnostic marker for oropharyngeal carcinomas.