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Prognostic significance of cytoplasmic p27 in oral squamous cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
Vallonthaiel Archana George,
Singh Manoj Kumar,
Dinda Amit Kumar,
Kakkar Aanchal,
Thakar Alok,
Das Satya N.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of oral pathology and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1600-0714
pISSN - 0904-2512
DOI - 10.1111/jop.12392
Subject(s) - cytoplasm , immunohistochemistry , subcellular localization , pathology , lymph node , cell , basal cell , oncogene , stage (stratigraphy) , metastasis , medicine , cell nucleus , lymph node metastasis , biology , cancer research , cancer , cell cycle , microbiology and biotechnology , paleontology , genetics
Objective p27 is a cell cycle‐dependent kinase inhibitor whose presence in nucleus is associated with good prognosis. Recent studies propose that when localized to cytoplasm, it functions as an oncogene and confers a poorer prognosis. This study aimed at analysing the subcellular localization of p27 and its prognostic significance in oral squamous cell carcinomas ( OSCC s). Methods Immunohistochemistry for p27 was carried out on 60 cases of OSCC (30 cases each of those with lymph node metastasis [ LN +ve SCC ] and without lymph node metastasis [ LN −ve SCC ]) and 30 normal mucosa. The relationship between p27 localization and prognosis was analysed statistically. Results Nuclear immunopositivity was seen in 15%, 23%, 7% and 60%, while cytoplasmic immunopositivity was seen in 80%, 63%, 97% and 43% of all SCC , LN +ve OSCC , LN −ve SCC cases and normal mucosa, respectively. There was a significant inverse correlation between nuclear and cytoplasmic p27 immunopositivity ( P = 0.001). Nodal status and tumour stage were the only two parameters that correlated with disease‐free survival ( DFS ) in OSCC cases. However, in LN +ve SCC , a significantly shortened DFS was seen in cases with cytoplasmic p27 expression compared to those without ( P = 0.02). Conversely, LN +ve SCC with nuclear p27 had longer DFS on comparison with those without ( P = 0.04). Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to analyse cytoplasmic localization of p27 in OSCC and correlate with prognosis. Cytoplasmic localization is associated with poor prognosis in OSCC with lymph node metastasis allowing the consideration of cytoplasmic p27 in predicting prognosis and targeted therapeutic approaches.