Immunohistochemical expression of TFIIH and XPF in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

• Published in: European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology Vol. 277; no. 3; pp. 893 - 902
• Main Authors: Sá, Melka Coêlho, Conceição, Thalita Santana, de Moura Santos, Edilmar, de Morais, Everton Freitas, Galvão, Hébel Cavalcanti, de Almeida Freitas, Roseana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-03-2020
• Subjects: Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Head and Neck; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Head and Neck Surgery; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mouth Neoplasms; Neoplasm Staging; Neurosurgery; Otorhinolaryngology; Prognosis; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; Tongue Neoplasms - pathology; Immunohistochemistry; Oral cancer; DNA repair; Histopathological grading system
• ISSN: 0937-4477; 1434-4726
• DOI: 10.1007/s00405-019-05757-2

Purpose
The query for biomarkers that indicate tumor aggressiveness and the host’s response to treatment is still one of the leading aims of cancer research. To investigate a possible role for DNA nucleotide repair proteins in oral cancer behavior, this study evaluated the immunoexpression of the proteins TFIIH and XPF and its association with clinical, histological, and survival parameters in oral tongue squamous-cell carcinoma (OTSCC).
Methods
TFIIH and XPF immunoexpressions were evaluated in 82 cases of oral tongue squamous-cell carcinoma. Tumor budding and depth of invasion were assessed for histopathological grading (BD model).
Results
Tumor cells exhibited high expression of TFIIH and XPF, which was associated to nodal status; both proteins were not associated with other clinical parameters, histopathological grading or survival. Tumor size, nodal status, tumor staging, and depth of invasion > 4 mm were significantly associated to disease-specific survival.
Conclusions
We have demonstrated that the overexpression of TFIIH correlates positively with node metastasis, while XPF correlates negatively with node metastasis; therefore, the expression of XPF and TFIIH had a potential value for predicting the progression of OTSCC patients.