Overexpression of Prothymosin Alpha Predicts Poor Disease Outcome in Head and Neck Cancer

2011

Prothymosin Alpha Overexpression and Head and Neck Cancer

Sample size: 366 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Tripathi Satyendra Chandra, Matta Ajay, Kaur Jatinder, Grigull Jorg, Chauhan Shyam Singh, Thakar Alok, Shukla Nootan Kumar, Duggal Ritu, Choudhary Ajoy Roy, DattaGupta Siddhartha, Sharma Mehar Chand, Ralhan Ranju, Siu K. W. Michael

Primary Institution: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Hypothesis

This study aimed to determine the clinical significance of PTMA overexpression in oral squamous cell hyperplasia, dysplasia, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Conclusion

Nuclear PTMA may serve as a prognostic marker in HNSCC to determine the subset of patients that are likely to show recurrence of the disease.

Supporting Evidence

63.8% of squamous cell hyperplasia cases showed significant PTMA overexpression.
50% of dysplasia cases showed significant PTMA overexpression.
61% of HNSCC cases showed nuclear localization of PTMA in tumor cells.
Kaplan Meier survival analysis indicated reduced disease-free survival in HNSCC patients with PTMA overexpression.
Cox-multivariate analysis revealed PTMA as an independent predictor of poor prognosis.

Takeaway

The study found that a protein called PTMA is found in higher amounts in certain types of mouth lesions and cancers, which could help doctors predict if a patient will get worse.

Methodology

Immunohistochemistry of PTMA protein was performed in HNSCCs (n=100), squamous cell hyperplasia (n=116), dysplasia (n=50), and histologically normal oral tissues (n=100).