THE PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF THE BUDDING AND DEPTH OF INVASION (BD) MODEL AND MARKERS IN ORAL CANCER

Abstract

Oral cancer is a relevant public health problem, with a reduced survival rate and absence of specific markers capable of predicting the prognosis. This study aimed to analyze the association of tumor budding and depth of invasion (BD) model and specific markers (stc2: stanniocalcin 2; pinp: type I collagen N-terminal propeptide; effd1: eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 delta; plectin; and fascin) with clinicopathologic parameters and outcome of 124 tongue and floor of mouth squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) to identify their roles in prognosis. Significant associations with survival were observed for BD model and tumor budding in the univariate analysis, and these parameters resisted the Cox multivariate analysis. Surgical margins, recurrence, and metastasis were also independent markers of reduced survival. The immunoexpression of pinp and stc2 were significantly associated with shortened survival of patients with tongue and floor of mouth SCC. Our findings indicate that the intensity of tumor budding and the BD model may be novel prognostic markers for patients with tongue and floor of mouth SCC and also identified potential new therapeutic targets such as pinp and stc2. Financial support: FAPEMIG (Brasil); FONDECYT (Chile). Oral cancer is a relevant public health problem, with a reduced survival rate and absence of specific markers capable of predicting the prognosis. This study aimed to analyze the association of tumor budding and depth of invasion (BD) model and specific markers (stc2: stanniocalcin 2; pinp: type I collagen N-terminal propeptide; effd1: eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 delta; plectin; and fascin) with clinicopathologic parameters and outcome of 124 tongue and floor of mouth squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) to identify their roles in prognosis. Significant associations with survival were observed for BD model and tumor budding in the univariate analysis, and these parameters resisted the Cox multivariate analysis. Surgical margins, recurrence, and metastasis were also independent markers of reduced survival. The immunoexpression of pinp and stc2 were significantly associated with shortened survival of patients with tongue and floor of mouth SCC. Our findings indicate that the intensity of tumor budding and the BD model may be novel prognostic markers for patients with tongue and floor of mouth SCC and also identified potential new therapeutic targets such as pinp and stc2. Financial support: FAPEMIG (Brasil); FONDECYT (Chile).