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Clinicopathologic significance of ROCK 2 expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas
Author(s) -
Dourado Mauricio R.,
Oliveira Carine E.,
SawazakiCalone Iris,
Sundquist Elias,
Coletta Ricardo D.,
Salo Tuula
Publication year - 2018
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.12651
Subject(s) - proportional hazards model , immunohistochemistry , pathology , hazard ratio , stage (stratigraphy) , cancer , survival analysis , cancer research , medicine , biology , confidence interval , paleontology
Background Rho‐associated coiled‐coil kinase 2 ( ROCK 2) is an oncoprotein that controls cytoskeleton organization and acts as prognostic marker in different types of solid tumors. ROCK 2 overexpression is also observed in cancer‐associated fibroblasts ( CAF ), which suggests its relevance within the tumor microenvironment. This study aimed to access the prognostic value of ROCK 2 in oral squamous cell carcinomas ( OSCC s) and its association with CAF density. Methods Rho‐associated coiled‐coil kinase 2 immunohistochemical analysis was applied in 93 OSCC samples from 2 centers in Brazil and Finland. The samples were also stained for isoform α of smooth muscle actin (α‐ SMA ) to characterize the presence of CAF in the tumor stroma. Clinicopathological associations were analyzed using Chi‐squared test, survival curves were constructed according to the Kaplan‐Meier method, and Cox proportional hazard model was applied for multivariate survival analysis. Results Advanced clinical stage ( P = .002) and increased density of CAF ( P = .002) were significantly associated with high ROCK 2 expression. The high expression of ROCK 2 was also associated with shortened disease‐specific survival ( HR : 2.22, 95% CI : 1.15‐4.38, P = .04), but the association did not withstand the Cox multivariate survival analysis. Conclusions The findings suggest that high ROCK 2 expression in OSCC is associated with advanced disease and follows the increase in CAF density, which may be important for tumor progression.