The clinical implication of tumoral Gal-1 expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

PURPOSE

To explore the expression of tumoral Gal-1 in association with clinical parameters and outcome in a large population with laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (LSCCs).

METHODS

A total of 187 patients with LSCC were retrospectively enrolled. Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the tumoral expression of Gal-1, apoptosis-related proteins and the density of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in tumor tissues before any intervene. Survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences in survival between groups were determined using the log-rank test. Prognostic effects were evaluated by Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 102 carcinomas (54.5 %) were identified as high Gal-1 expression, and 85 carcinomas (45.5 %) as low expression. Tumoral Gal-1 expression was not significantly related with clinical stage and histology differentiation. No correlation of Gal-1 expression with apoptosis-related protein was identified. Instead, Gal-1 status was correlated positively with the ratio of FOXP3(+)/CD8(+) TILs (P = 0.024). In multivariate regression analysis, advanced clinical stage and the presence of metastases were identified as the independent predictors for poor survival in entire cohort. Especially, the statistical correlation between the Gal-1 expression and prognosis was particularly due to the late-stage tumors (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Current results represent valuable advancements in Gal-1 research and provided further support for using Gal-1 as a diagnostic biomarker and immunotherapeutic target for LSCC.