Wu Zhigang, Song Wenqing, Cheng Zenong, Yang Dongkun, Yu Lan
Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College Anhui Province, China.
Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College Anhui Province, China.
Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2017 Nov 1;10(11):11267-11275. eCollection 2017.
LGR5, also named as GPR49, is considered as a biomarker of cancer stem cells which have been responsible for the initiation, progression, metastasis, and recurrence of cancers. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) which defines the formation of fluid-conducting tubes by highly progressive and genetically dysregulated cancer cells has been considered as useful biomarker for metastasis and prognosis in various cancers. In this study, we analyzed associations between LGR5 and VM in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and their association with clinicopathological characters in OSCC.
Positive rates of LGR5 and VM in 190 OSCC tissue samples and correspondence normal tissues were detected by immunohistochemical and histochemical staining. Patients' clinical data were also collected.
Positive rates of LGR5 and VM were significantly higher in OSCC tissues than those in normal tissues. Positive rates of LGR5 and VM were positively related to tumor size, grades, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stages, and inversely with patients overall survival time. And there was a positive association between the expression of LGR5 and positive rate of VM. In multivariate analysis, high expression of LGR5 and positive VM and lymph node metastasis, as well as TNM stages were to be considered as independent prognosis factors for overall survival time in patients with OSCC.
The expression of LGR5 and VM represent potential biomarkers for metastasis and prognosis, as well as therapeutic targets for OSCC.
LGR5，也称为GPR49，被认为是癌症干细胞的生物标志物，癌症干细胞与癌症的发生、发展、转移和复发有关。血管生成拟态（VM）是指高度进展且基因失调的癌细胞形成液体传导管道，已被认为是各种癌症转移和预后的有用生物标志物。在本研究中，我们分析了口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）中LGR5与VM之间的关联，以及它们与OSCC临床病理特征的关系。
采用免疫组织化学和组织化学染色检测190例OSCC组织样本及其相应正常组织中LGR5和VM的阳性率。同时收集患者的临床资料。
OSCC组织中LGR5和VM的阳性率显著高于正常组织。LGR5和VM的阳性率与肿瘤大小、分级、淋巴结转移和TNM分期呈正相关，与患者总生存时间呈负相关。并且LGR5的表达与VM的阳性率之间存在正相关。多因素分析显示，LGR5高表达、VM阳性以及淋巴结转移和TNM分期是OSCC患者总生存时间的独立预后因素。
LGR5和VM的表达代表了OSCC转移和预后的潜在生物标志物以及治疗靶点。
