Circulating high mobility group AT‐hook 2 and pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 in blood of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background High mobility group AT ‐hook 2 ( HMGA 2) and pleomorphic adenoma gene 1( PLAG 1) have been demonstrated to be elevated in many malignant tumors. However, the aim of this study was to evaluate HMGA 2 and PLAG 1 levels in blood as a non‐invasive biomarker for oral squamous cell carcinoma ( OSCC ) diagnosis. Methods qRT ‐ PCR was performed to measure circulating HMGA 2 and PLAG 1 levels in OSCC patients (n=43) and matched cancer‐free blood control group (n=21). Clinical data of all patients were recorded. Results Circulating HMGA 2 and PLAG 1 in the 43 OSCC patients was significantly higher than in control group ( P <.001, P =.038, respectively). Furthermore, HMGA 2 expression in OSCC patients with poor‐moderate differentiation was increased compared with well‐differentiated group. However, no significant differences in PLAG 1 expression were detected when differentiation was considered. In addition, the receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curve analysis for circulating HMGA 2 revealed an area under the ROC curve of 0.876 (95% confidence interval, 0.793‐0.959; P <.001) with 65.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity in discriminating OSCC from controls at a cutoff value of 14.380, demonstrating significant diagnostic value for OSCC . Conclusion Circulating HMGA 2 levels are increased in OSCC patients and may potentially serve as a significant index to evaluate OSCC diagnosis.