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Prognostic value of circulating tumor cells with podoplanin expression in patients with locally advanced or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
Hsieh Jason ChiaHsun,
Lin HungChih,
Huang ChiYa,
Hsu HsungLing,
Wu Tyler MinHsien,
Lee ChiaLin,
Chen MinChi,
Wang HungMing,
Tseng ChingPing
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.23779
Subject(s) - podoplanin , medicine , head and neck squamous cell carcinoma , circulating tumor cell , oncology , univariate analysis , multivariate analysis , immunohistochemistry , head and neck , pathology , head and neck cancer , cancer , metastasis , surgery
Abstract Background Podoplanin (PDPN) is a prognostic factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, PDPN expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and its prognostic value are not clear. Methods The PowerMag system was used to enumerate CTCs from 53 patients with HNSCC prechemotherapy and 61 healthy donors. PDPN expression was determined by immunofluorescence staining. Results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and clinical outcome, such as patient survival by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and univariate and multivariate analyses. Results PDPN was expressed in a subset of CTCs. Both EpCAM‐positive CTC and PDPN‐positive CTC counts were statistically different between the disease and nondisease groups ( p < .0001) with no prognostic value. After a median follow‐up of 10.5 months (range, 6.6–18.5 months), the PDPN‐positive/EpCAM‐positive CTC ratio >20% was a significant prognostic factor for death within 6 months ( p = .011) and was correlated with poor progression‐free survival ( p = .016) and overall survival ( p = .015). Conclusion PDPN‐positive/EpCAM‐positive CTC ratio is a prognostic factor and defining the ratio in patients with HNSCC might be valuable to clinical management. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 1448–1455, 2015