p-Akt and its relationship with clinicopathological features and survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma: an immunohistochemical study

• Published in: Journal of oral pathology & medicine Vol. 44; no. 7; pp. 532 - 537
• Main Authors: Pontes, Hélder Antônio Rebelo, Pontes, Flávia Sirotheau Corrêa, de Jesus, Adriana Souza, Soares, Maiza Cristina Pereira, Gonçalves, Fábio Luiz Neves, de Lucena Botelho, Tessa, do Carmo Ribeiro, Jaciane, dos Santos Pinto Jr, Décio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-08-2015
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biomarkers, Tumor - biosynthesis; Biopsy; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - enzymology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - metabolism; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Cell Proliferation - physiology; Chi-Square Distribution; Dentistry; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms - enzymology; Head and Neck Neoplasms - metabolism; Head and Neck Neoplasms - pathology; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Lymphatic Metastasis; Male; Middle Aged; Mouth Neoplasms - diagnosis; Mouth Neoplasms - enzymology; Mouth Neoplasms - metabolism; Mouth Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Staging; oral cancer; p-Akt; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - biosynthesis; recurrence; Risk Factors; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; survival; Survival Rate; tumour growth; recurrence; p-Akt; oral cancer; tumour growth; survival
• ISSN: 0904-2512; 1600-0714
• DOI: 10.1111/jop.12268

Background
The aim of this study was to evaluate, through immunohistochemical reaction in samples of oral squamous cell carcinoma, the correlation between the expression status of protein kinase B (p‐Akt) and patient survival as well as histological grade and some clinicopathological features.
Methods
Samples were collected from 46 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The immunohistochemical expression of p‐Akt was analysed, as were clinicopathological features including the use of tobacco, tumour stage, size and infiltration of metastatic lymph nodes. The association of immunostaining with histological grade was analysed in 40 patients. The associations were examined for statistical significance using a chi‐square test. Overall survival rates were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using a log rank test (P > 0.05).
Results
The results indicated a statistically significant association with p‐Akt immunostaining for the variables lymph node metastasis (P = 0.006), tumour size (P = 0.044) and survival rate (P = 0.0298).
Conclusion
From these results, the present study suggests that high p‐Akt expression found in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients may contribute to tumour growth, metastasis to regional lymph nodes and shorter survival time.