PTPN2 Expression in Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Clinical Significance

Abstract

This study aimed to explore PTPN2 expression levels in Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HPSCC) tissues and their relationship with the clinical characteristics and prognosis of HPSCC patients. PTPN2, a protein tyrosine phosphatase, has recently emerged as a promising target for cancer immunotherapy, and in many previous studies, PTPN2 may have a significant role in the growth, differentiation, metabolism and immune response of head and neck malignant tumors. In this study, PTPN2 expression in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) and other cancer tissues was analyzed using datasets derived from the Sangerbox database. Furthermore, we analyzed data on PTPN2 mRNA levels across various clinical stages of HNSCC (I, II, III, and IV), which was extracted from the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database. Clinical data from patients who underwent surgical resection for hypopharyngeal malignancies at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University between January 2013 and January 2024 were also obtained and analyzed. The patient specimens were categorized into two groups (the HPSCC tumor and paracarcinoma tissue groups) and compared for PTPN2 expression using Immunohistochemistry (IHC), Immunofluorescence (IF), and Western Blot (WB) analyses. According to the results, HPSCC patients were mostly elderly males with a history of tobacco and alcohol abuse. Furthermore, the most common site of HPSCC onset was piriform sinuses, and the disease was often diagnosed in the middle or advanced stages. Additionally, HPSCC tissues exhibited PTPN2 upregulation. Moreover, PTPN2 expression did not correlate significantly with patients' gender, Smoking Index (SI), alcohol abuse, tumor diameter, Hypertension (HTN), diabetes, and M stage. On the other hand, it correlated with HPSCC patients' T-stage, N-stage, Overall Survival (OS), and clinical stage. Based on these findings, we deduced that high PTPN2 expression could be involved in HPSCC patients' poor prognosis.

Keywords: PTPN2; T cells; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma; prognosis.