[Low expression of PTEN and high expression of STING in human tongue squamous cell carcinoma tissues are associated with poor prognosis].

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of phosphatase and tension homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in human tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). Methods The expression of PTEN and STING protein in 65 pairs of TSCC and paracancerous tissues was detected by immunohistochemical EnVision method, and the relationships between PTEN, STING and clinicopathological parameters, overall survival (OS) and prognosis were analyzed by statistical methods. Results Compared with the adjacent tissues, the expression of PTEN in TSCC significantly decreased, and the expression of STING significantly increased. PTEN was negatively correlated with STING. In TSCC, the expression of PTEN and STING were correlated with pathological grade, TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. There were no significant correlations between the expression intensity of PTEN, STING and the gender and age of patients. The low expression of PTEN and the high expression of STING in TSCC tissues were significantly associated with poor prognosis and significantly shortened overall survival of patients. Conclusion TSCC patients with low expression of PTEN and high expression of STING have poor prognosis and short survival time. Combined detection of PTEN and STING expression is helpful to evaluate the degree of tumor progression and patient prognosis.