Background & objective: Fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene, a candidate tumor suppressor gene, located at 3pl4.2, spans the most common fragile site, FRA3B, in human genomes. It is altered in many human cancers, such as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This study was to investigate correlation of FHIT expression to cell proliferation and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).
Methods: Expression of FHIT protein, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was detected by SP immunohistochemistry in 41 specimens of LSCC and their matched adjacent non-cancerous epithelium (NCE).
Results: Positive rates of FHIT in NCE, and LSCC were 100.0% (41/41), and 46.3% (19/41) (P< 0.01); in LSCC of stage I-II, and stage III-IV were 69.6% (16/23), and 16.7% (3/18) (P< 0.01); in lymph node metastasis group, and no metastasis group were 20.0% (3/15), and 61.5% (16/26) (P< 0.05). PCNA labeling indexes in NCE, and LSCC were (9.98+/-2.34)%, and (50.71+/-13.64)% (P< 0.01). In LSCC, expression of FHIT negatively correlated with PCNA (P< 0.05).
Conclusion: Low expression of FHIT might play an important role in cell proliferation and metastasis of LSCC, FHIT might be a useful marker for evaluating biological behaviors of LSCC.