Minor salivary gland carcinomas represent a heterogeneous group of tumors with broad variation in clinical appearance and histopathology. Clinical data of patients with small salivary gland malignancies were collected from the medical records. Tissue microarray was constructed to determine the expression pattern of 24 proteins in 35 patients with minor salivary gland carcinomas. The choice of markers was based on involvement in neoangiogenesis, cell-to-cell contact, cell-cycle regulation and carcinogenesis. Protein expression data were correlated to patients' clinical data. Overexpression of patched (p = 0.046) and Smo (p = 0.032) was linked to a better overall survival and Glutathione S-transferase π overexpression was linked to prolonged disease-free survival (p = 0.005). Cox-1 (p = 0.035) and VEGFR2 (p = 0.009) were significantly linked to decreased survival for recurrent disease. Bcl-x (84 %), β-catenin (87 %) and Cox-2 (87 %) were significantly overexpressed in minor salivary gland carcinomas. We have shown that Smo resulted in a better overall survival, whereas Gstπ in improved disease-free survival. VEGFR2 was a prognostic factor for survival after recurrence in patients with minor salivary gland carcinomas. Cyclooxygenase inhibitors and anti-Wnt-1 antibodies might be a potential therapeutic option in an adjuvant setting or for patients with unresectable tumors of the minor salivary glands.
Keywords: Anti-Wnt-1 antibodies; Cyclooxygenase; Small salivary gland tumors; Targeted anticancer therapy.