Abdellah Ahmed Mostafa Ahmed, Rafiq Tayyaba, Rashid Noor Ul Ain, Minhas Madeeha, Tanvir Seemi, Majeedano Sajid Ali, Ali Asma, Shah Muhmmad Hussain
General Surgery, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley, GBR.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, PAK.
Cureus. 2025 Jun 16;17(6):e86149. doi: 10.7759/cureus.86149. eCollection 2025 Jun.
The most common type of malignancy on a global scale is oral cancer, as its incidence level is high worldwide. The neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 1 (NOTCH1) plays a key role in cell maturation and the regulation of the immune system; however, its functions are still not fully understood. This research evaluated the expression of NOTCH1 across two types of oral cancer (oral squamous cell carcinoma {OSCC} versus mucoepidermoid carcinoma {MEC}) and healthy controls to observe its correlation with immune suppression and patterns of disease progression.
This case-control study was conducted over a seven-month period from March 2023 to September 2023. A total of 120 participants were enrolled and divided into three equal groups, i.e., 40/120 (33.34%) OSCC cases, 40/120 (33.33%) MEC cases, and 40/120 (33.33%) healthy controls. The RNA extraction was done using a protocol, and blood and tumor tissues were taken for the purpose, after which cDNA was produced. The analysis was performed using NOTCH1-specific primers by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). SPSS version 20 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) was used for the calculation of expression quantities by employing the 2 method. To analyze the data, the ANOVA method was used. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.
The expression levels of NOTCH1 mRNA were seen to be substantially different across groups, with a mean of 3.67±0.59, while MEC patients displayed lower overexpression at 2.48±0.53, and controls maintained baseline expression at 1.00±0.42. NOTCH1 in stage IV cancers was more upregulated (4.03±0.48) than in stage III (3.26±0.56; p<0.001).
The research demonstrated that NOTCH1 showed significant upregulation in oral squamous cell carcinoma and was associated with both immune suppression and unfavorable clinical outcomes. The investigation indicated that NOTCH1 stood as an effective biomarker and therapeutic target for oral cancer.
口腔癌是全球范围内最常见的恶性肿瘤类型，其发病率在全球范围内都很高。神经源性位点Notch同源蛋白1（NOTCH1）在细胞成熟和免疫系统调节中起关键作用；然而，其功能仍未完全明确。本研究评估了NOTCH1在两种口腔癌（口腔鳞状细胞癌{OSCC}与黏液表皮样癌{MEC}）及健康对照中的表达情况，以观察其与免疫抑制及疾病进展模式的相关性。
本病例对照研究于2023年3月至2023年9月进行，为期7个月。共招募了120名参与者，分为三组，每组40人，即120人中40人（33.34%）为OSCC病例，40人（33.33%）为MEC病例，40人（33.33%）为健康对照。按照方案进行RNA提取，为此采集血液和肿瘤组织，之后制备cDNA。使用NOTCH1特异性引物通过定量实时PCR（RT-qPCR）进行分析。使用SPSS 20版（纽约州阿蒙克：IBM公司）采用2-ΔΔCT法计算表达量。为分析数据，使用方差分析方法。p值<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
NOTCH1 mRNA的表达水平在各组间存在显著差异，均值为3.67±0.59，而MEC患者的过表达较低，为2.48±0.53，对照组维持基线表达，为1.00±0.42。IV期癌症中的NOTCH1上调程度（4.03±0.48）高于III期（3.26±0.56；p<0.001）。
该研究表明NOTCH1在口腔鳞状细胞癌中显著上调，且与免疫抑制和不良临床结局均相关。该调查表明NOTCH1是口腔癌的有效生物标志物和治疗靶点。
