The expression of ACAT1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and the adjacent pre-tumour tissue.

BACKGROUND

Altered acetyl CoA acetyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) expression has been reported in diverse cancers. However, the expression of ACAT1 and its prognostic value in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has remained unexplored.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, the expression of ACAT1 was analysed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 61 OSCC patients and compared between OSCC and adjacent pre-tumour tissue of 21 patients.

RESULTS

The expression of ACAT1 in OSCC tumours is heterogeneous between patients. More specifically, 52.38% of the patients show low expression of ACAT1 in both tumour and adjacent pre-tumour tissues, 9.52% of the patients show high expression of ACAT1 in both tumour and adjacent pre-tumour, 19.05% of the patients have high expression of ACAT1 in tumour tissue and low expression of ACAT1 in adjacent pre-tumour tissue and another 19.05% of the patients have low expression of ACAT1 in tumour tissue and high expression of ACAT1 in adjacent pre-tumour tissue.

CONCLUSION

Comparison of ACAT1 expression, one of the key enzymes in the ketone body metabolic pathway, divided OSCC patients into two groups: 1) similar expression and 2) different expression of ACAT1 in tumour and adjacent pre-tumour tissue. No significant association between ACAT1 levels and overall survival was observed.