The aim of the present study was to determine the expression of rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit α (PIK3CA) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and to assess the association between the expression of these proteins and the clinicopathological features of NPC. ROCK1 and PIK3CA expressions were assessed in a tissue microarray of sections prepared from the tumors of 81 patients with NPC using immunohistochemistry. Western blot analysis was used to detect ROCK1 and PIK3CA expression in NP69 and 5-8F cells. χ2 analysis revealed that upregulation of ROCK1 was significantly associated with advanced N stage (P=0.032) cancer and increased PIK3CA expression was significantly associated with advanced N stage (P=0.027) and TNM stage (P=0.019) cancer. Furthermore, ROCK1 expression was significantly positively correlated with PIK3CA expression (P=0.01). Western blot analysis demonstrated that levels of ROCK1 (P<0.001) and PIK3CA (P=0.015) were significantly higher in 5-8F cells compared with NP69 cells. The results of the present study indicate that high levels of ROCK1 and PIK3CA expression may be associated with advanced stages in NPC.
Keywords: immunohistochemistry; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit α; rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase 1; tissue microarray.