OP053: The role of sLea, sLex and CLA in oropharyngeal carcinoma: Preliminary report

Abstract

Purpose Tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) result from the aberrant glycosylation that is seen as a frequent event in several human cancers cells. Sialyl Lewis (X) and Sialyl Lewis (A) are terminal carbohydrate structures belonging to the blood group Lewis. Their expression is strongly associated with prognosis in certain tumours, but their potential prognostic implications in oropharyngeal cancer patients are largely unexplored. Aim of the work was to define both the pathogenetic and the prognostic role of sLea, sLex and CLA, containing sLex antigenic determinants, in a large series of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCCs). Materials and methods 88 OPSCCs were analysed by immunohistochemistry for sLea, sLex and CLA. Statistical evaluations were carried out using Pearson’s Chi Square Test, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey’s HSD test to compare distribution of clinical and pathological features among patients with the different immunohistochemical scores of CLA, sLea and sLex expression. Cox analysis was applied to determine the single contribution of covariates on survival rate. Only values of p Results In all neoplastic tissues we have observed higher levels of CLA, sLea and sLex than in normal mucosa ( p Discussion and conclusions Our work have underlined the key-role of TACAs in oropharyngeal carcinogenesis and in the prognostic stratification of patients. To our knowledge, the present work is the first largest study to highlight the existence of a statistical association between TACAs and traditional prognostic factors in oropharyngeal cancer.