*Department of Neurosciences, Otolaryngology Section, Padova University Hospital, Padova; †Otorhinolaryngology Division, Legnano Hospital, Legnano; ‡Department of Medicine DIMED, §Pediatric Onco-Hematology Unit, and ∥Department of Neurosciences, Otosurgery Unit, Padova University Hospital, Padova; and ¶Anatomic Pathology Division, Legnano Hospital, Legnano, Italy.
Otol Neurotol. 2013 Oct;34(8):1476-82. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0b013e3182a036c9.
Temporal bone squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for less than 0.2% of all head and neck tumors. Although some progress has been made in treating this aggressive tumor, the prognosis in advanced cases remains poor. More effective therapeutic strategies need to be considered, including receptor-mediated carcinoma-targeted therapy. Phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) regulates many genes that are necessarily expressed in cancer initiation, development, and progression, being involved in proliferation, anti-apoptosis, invasion, angiogenesis, and immune surveillance evasion. The aim of the present study was to preliminarily investigate the potential prognostic role of pSTAT3 expression in temporal bone SCC.
Retrospective clinicopathologic investigation.
Tertiary referral centers.
Twenty-five consecutively operated patients with primary temporal bone SCC.
pSTAT3 immunohistochemical expression in primary temporal bone SCCs was assessed with the aid of computer-based image analysis.
Conventional clinicopathologic parameters and pSTAT3 expression were correlated with SCC prognosis.
pT, stage, and surgical margin status were significantly related with recurrence rate (p = 0.002, p = 0.01, and p = 0.047, respectively) and disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.0049, p = 0.031, and p = 0.035, respectively). pT classification was also related with disease-specific survival (DSS) (p = 0.035). The SCC recurrence rate did not correlate with pSTAT3 expression. Statistical analyses ruled out any significant difference in DFS or DSS when patients were stratified by pSTAT3 expression (>80.0% or ≤80.0%).
Despite our preliminary results, the role of pSTAT3 in temporal bone SCC warrants further investigation in larger series because there is increasing evidence in preclinical models to indicate that inhibiting STAT3 phosphorylation can be a useful addition to different anticancer strategies.
颞骨鳞状细胞癌（SCC）占头颈部肿瘤的比例不到 0.2%。尽管在治疗这种侵袭性肿瘤方面已经取得了一些进展，但晚期病例的预后仍然较差。需要考虑更有效的治疗策略，包括受体介导的癌靶向治疗。磷酸化 STAT3（pSTAT3）调节许多在癌症起始、发展和进展中必需表达的基因，参与增殖、抗凋亡、侵袭、血管生成和免疫监视逃逸。本研究的目的是初步探讨 pSTAT3 表达在颞骨 SCC 中的潜在预后作用。
回顾性临床病理研究。
三级转诊中心。
25 例连续接受原发性颞骨 SCC 手术的患者。
利用计算机图像分析评估原发性颞骨 SCC 中的 pSTAT3 免疫组化表达。
常规临床病理参数和 pSTAT3 表达与 SCC 预后的相关性。
pT、分期和手术切缘状态与复发率（p = 0.002、p = 0.01 和 p = 0.047）和无病生存率（DFS）（p = 0.0049、p = 0.031 和 p = 0.035）显著相关。pT 分类也与疾病特异性生存率（DSS）相关（p = 0.035）。SCC 复发率与 pSTAT3 表达无相关性。统计分析排除了根据 pSTAT3 表达（>80.0%或≤80.0%）分层时 DFS 或 DSS 差异有统计学意义的可能性。
尽管我们的初步结果表明，pSTAT3 在颞骨 SCC 中的作用需要在更大的系列中进一步研究，因为越来越多的临床前模型证据表明，抑制 STAT3 磷酸化可能是对抗癌症策略的有用补充。
