Artemin (ARTN) has been implicated in the development and progression of several human malignancies. However, the clinical and prognostic significance of ARTN and its receptors has not yet been investigated in human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Therefore, in the present study, the protein expression of ARTN and its receptor, namely GFRα1, was determined in 76 LSCC and 26 laryngeal polyp tissue samples using immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of ARTN and GFRα1 expression was analyzed in patients with LSCC. The results revealed that the expression of ARTN and GFRα1 was significantly increased in LSCC compared with polyp tissue samples. Furthermore, the expression of ARTN and GFRα1 was positively associated with pTNM stage in LSCC. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses revealed a strong association between the expression of ARTN or GFRα1 and the survival of patients with LSCC. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the expression of ARTN was significantly correlated with the expression GFRα1. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that ARTN and GFRα1 may be useful predictors of disease progression and outcome in patients with LSCC.
Keywords: GFRα1; artemin; laryngeal squamous cell; survival.