Clinical significance of EphA2 expression in squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Abstract

EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase is frequently overexpressed and functionally altered in a variety of human cancers. The study aimed to assess EphA2 expression and to explore its roles in squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). EphA2 expression in 98 primary SCCHN tissue specimens was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinicopathological parameters. Additionally, 13 paired SCCHN tissues and 6 SCCHN cell lines were evaluated for EphA2 expression by RT-PCR and immunoblotting. EphA2 overexpressed in SCCHN tissues and SCCHN cell lines. More importantly, high EphA2 expression was significantly associated with tumor site, T classification, clinical stage, recurrence, and lymph node metastasis, respectively. Patients with high EphA2 expression had both poorer disease-free survival and overall survival than patients with low EphA2 expression. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that EphA2 overexpression was an independent prognostic factor for patients with SCCHN. These findings suggested that EphA2 may contribute to SCCHN progression and represent a novel prognostic indicator for patients with SCCHN.