Background/aim: Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) (gene locus: 10q23.3) -a tumor suppressor gene- is deleted, mutated or epigenetically hyper-methylated in a variety of malignancies. PTEN acts as a negative regulator in PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling transduction pathway. Our aim was to investigate PTEN protein expression patterns in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (LSCC).
Materials and methods: Using tissue microarray technology, fifty (n=50) primary LSCCs were cored and re-embedded into one recipient block. Immunohistochemistry and digital image analysis were implemented for evaluating protein expression levels.
Results: Abnormal protein expression (low to negative staining intensity values) was observed in 28/50 (56%) tissue cores. Overall PTEN expression was associated with the anatomical region of the malignancies (p=0.039), whereas a borderline correlation with the differentiation grade was also assessed (p=0.05).
Conclusion: Aberrant expression of PTEN tumor-suppressor gene in LSCCs seems to affect their biological behavior. Well-differentiated tumors express moderate to high protein levels, an evidence of normal gene function, whereas loss of its expression correlates with a progressive tumor dedifferentiation. Additionally, loss of its expression is detected more frequently in specific anatomical regions of the larynx (glottis, predominantly, and partially supraglottis).
Keywords: PTEN; Squamous cell carcinoma; larynx; microarrays.
Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.