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. 2021 Apr 10;11(4):336.
doi: 10.3390/life11040336.

Comparison of Androgen Receptor, VEGF, HIF-1, Ki67 and MMP9 Expression between Non-Metastatic and Metastatic Stages in Stromal and Tumor Cells of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Lovorka Batelja-Vuletic  1 , Cedna Tomasovic-Loncaric  2 , Marcello Ceppi  3 , Marco Bruzzone  3 , Aleksandra Fucic  4 , Karolina Krstanac  2 , Vanja Boras Vucicevic  5
Affiliations

Comparison of Androgen Receptor, VEGF, HIF-1, Ki67 and MMP9 Expression between Non-Metastatic and Metastatic Stages in Stromal and Tumor Cells of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Lovorka Batelja-Vuletic et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

Objectives: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common oral malignancy with low survival as it is very often diagnosed at an advanced stage, which is why the accurate profiling of the tumor is essential. The aim of this study was to, for the first time, compare in OSCC the frequency of AR, VEGF, MMP9, HiF1beta and Ki67 between the non-metastatic and metastatic disease.

Materials and methods: In the study, 96 non-metastatic and 91 metastatic OSCC patients were analysed for AR, VEGF, MMP9, HiF1beta and Ki67 levels by immunohistochemistry.

Results: All of the tested biomarkers significantly differed between non-metastatic and metastatic disease. A significant association was found between >/=20% AR positive epithelium cells in cytoplasm, Ki67 and VEGF in cancer stroma. Ki67, HiF1beta, VEGF and MMP9 were significantly associated with TNM stages.

Conclusion: Our results show for the first time an interplay between AR, VEGF, MMP9, HiF1beta and Ki67 in OSCC which may contribute to better diagnostics and therapy selection.

Keywords: HIF-1; Ki67; MMP9; VEGF; androgen receptor; oral squamous cell carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
AR antibody, nuclear positivity in cancer cells in non metastatic OSCC (a) and cytoplasmic and nuclear positivity in cancer cells of metastatic OSCC (b). (magnification 200×).
Figure 2
Figure 2
VEGF antibody, cytoplasmic positivity in cancer and stromal cells in non metastatic (a) and metastatic (b) OSCC. (magnification 200×).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hif 1 beta antibody, nuclear positivity in cancer cells in non metastatic (a) and metastatic (b) OSCC. (magnification 200×).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Ki 67 antibody, nuclear positivity in non metastatic OSCC (a) and metastatic OSCC (b). (magnification 400x).
Figure 5
Figure 5
MMP9 antibody, cytoplasmic positivity in cancer (black arrow) and stromal cells (red arrow)of non metastatic OSCC (a) and in metastatic OSCC (b). (magnification 200×).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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