Lin Yueh-Min, Lin Chiao-Wen, Lu Jeng-Wei, Yeh Kun-Tu, Lin Shu-Hui, Yang Shun-Fa
Department of Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 500, Taiwan.
Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung 406, Taiwan.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2020 Feb 23;10(2):122. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10020122.
A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motif 14 (ADAMTS14) is a member of the zinc-dependent protease family that is implicated in the occurrence and progression of tumors. Oral cancer (OC) is a common cancer worldwide, but it is particularly prevalent in Taiwan. However, whether the expression of ADAMTS14 is correlated with the carcinogenesis and progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not yet been investigated. In this study, we used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to examine 250 OSCC specimens in order to identify correlations between the cytoplasmic expression of ADAMTS14 and (1) clinicopathological features of OSCC as well as (2) clinical outcomes of OSCC. Our results indicate that cytoplasmic expression of ADAMTS14 was lower in OSCC tissues than in normal tissues. In analyzing correlations between ADAMTS14 expression and clinicopathological features, we found that negative cytoplasmic expression of ADAMTS14 was significantly associated with higher frequencies of lymph node metastasis and more advanced AJCC stages (III/IV). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that negative cytoplasmic expression of ADAMTS14 was also associated with significantly worse OSCC survival. Univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed that cytoplasmic expression of ADAMTS14 was associated with lymph node metastasis, tumor stage, and tumor grade and also indicated that cytoplasmic ADAMTS14 expression may be an independent prognostic factor for OSCC. This is the first study to report that the cytoplasmic expression level of ADAMTS14 is associated with OSCC prognosis and tumor progression. Our data indicate that ADAMTS14 can serve as a prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for OSCC.
含血小板反应蛋白基序的解聚素和金属蛋白酶14（ADAMTS14）是锌依赖性蛋白酶家族的成员，与肿瘤的发生和发展有关。口腔癌（OC）是全球常见的癌症，但在台湾尤为普遍。然而，ADAMTS14的表达是否与口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）的发生和发展相关尚未得到研究。在本研究中，我们使用免疫组织化学（IHC）检测了250例OSCC标本，以确定ADAMTS14的细胞质表达与（1）OSCC的临床病理特征以及（2）OSCC的临床结局之间的相关性。我们的结果表明，OSCC组织中ADAMTS14的细胞质表达低于正常组织。在分析ADAMTS14表达与临床病理特征之间的相关性时，我们发现ADAMTS14的细胞质阴性表达与更高的淋巴结转移频率和更晚期的美国癌症联合委员会（AJCC）分期（III/IV期）显著相关。Kaplan-Meier生存分析显示，ADAMTS14的细胞质阴性表达也与OSCC的生存率显著较差相关。单因素和多因素分析证实，ADAMTS14的细胞质表达与淋巴结转移、肿瘤分期和肿瘤分级相关，还表明细胞质ADAMTS14表达可能是OSCC的独立预后因素。这是第一项报道ADAMTS14的细胞质表达水平与OSCC预后和肿瘤进展相关的研究。我们的数据表明，ADAMTS14可作为OSCC的预后标志物和潜在治疗靶点。
