CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL AND PROGNOSTIC SIGNIFICANCE OF PAI-1 EXPRESSION IN ORAL TONGUE SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) and its association with clinicopathological parameters and survival rates of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). Study Design: Sixty cases of OTSCC were selected for morphologic and immunohistochemical study. Each case was histopathologically graded according to Almangush et al. (2015). Cytoplasmic and membrane immunoexpression of PAI-1 were semiquantitatively analyzed at the deep invasive front. Pearson χ2 and Fisher exact test were performed to investigate the relationship between immunohistochemical findings and clinicopathological characteristics. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results: PAI-1 was highly expressed by neoplastic and stromal cells. No statistically significant associations were found between cytoplasmic immunopositivity for PAI-1 and clinical stage, nodal metastasis, local recurrence, disease outcome, or histopathological grade of malignancy (P> .05). Membrane immunopositivity for PAI-1 was significantly associated with tumor budding and histopathological risk-assessment score (P< .05). Cytoplasmic and membrane expression of PAI-1 were not associated with disease-specific or disease-free survival (P> .05). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that PAI-1 partly influences the biological behavior of OTSCC. However, the immunoexpression of this protein may not be useful to predict survival of the studied lesion. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) and its association with clinicopathological parameters and survival rates of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). Study Design: Sixty cases of OTSCC were selected for morphologic and immunohistochemical study. Each case was histopathologically graded according to Almangush et al. (2015). Cytoplasmic and membrane immunoexpression of PAI-1 were semiquantitatively analyzed at the deep invasive front. Pearson χ2 and Fisher exact test were performed to investigate the relationship between immunohistochemical findings and clinicopathological characteristics. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results: PAI-1 was highly expressed by neoplastic and stromal cells. No statistically significant associations were found between cytoplasmic immunopositivity for PAI-1 and clinical stage, nodal metastasis, local recurrence, disease outcome, or histopathological grade of malignancy (P> .05). Membrane immunopositivity for PAI-1 was significantly associated with tumor budding and histopathological risk-assessment score (P< .05). Cytoplasmic and membrane expression of PAI-1 were not associated with disease-specific or disease-free survival (P> .05). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that PAI-1 partly influences the biological behavior of OTSCC. However, the immunoexpression of this protein may not be useful to predict survival of the studied lesion.