Purpose: T lymphoma invasion and metastasis inducing factor 1 (TIAM1) overexpression has been reported in a variety of human cancers. However, the investigation of TIAM1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was extremely rare. The aim of the study was to assess TIAM1 expression and explore its role in OSCC.
Methods: Immunohistochemistry staining was performed in 80 primary OSCC patients and 20 normal oral mucosa samples. The expression of TIAM1 and its association with clinicopathological parameters were analyzed using SPSS19.0 software package.
Results: TIAM1 expression was significantly stronger in OSCC tissues (91.25%) compared with normal oral mucosa (10.00%); TIAM1 overexpression was significantly correlated with histological grade (P=0.019), clinical stage (P<0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.004), but not significantly correlated with sex or age.
Conclusions: TIAM1 may play an important role in the occurrence, development and metastasis of OSCC, which may be a potentially therapeutic target in the future.