This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (25)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Prognosis/ Outcomes  • Pathology of Head & Neck  • Alert me on articles by topic

Janet I. Lee, MD; Jean-Charles Soria, MD; Khaled A. Hassan, MD; Adel K. El-Naggar, MD, PhD; Ximing Tang, MD, PhD; Diane D. Liu, MS; Waun Ki Hong, MD; Li Mao, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127:1441-1445.

Background  Abnormalities of PTEN, a candidate tumor suppressor gene located at 10q23.3, play an important role in the tumorigenesis of multiple tumor types.

Objectives  To investigate the expression of PTEN and its clinical implication in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue.

Design  Retrospective analysis of PTEN protein expression in archived primary oral tongue tumor samples.

Setting  Academic center.

Patients and Methods  PTEN expression was determined by immunohistochemical analysis in tissue samples from 41 patients with stage II, III, and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. All the patients underwent curative surgical treatment with a median follow-up of 81 months. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed according to the Cox proportional hazards model.

Results  Lack of staining for PTEN was demonstrated in 12 (29%) of the 41 tumors. Patients whose tumors lacked PTEN expression had a significantly shorter overall survival time (P = .03) and event-free survival time (P = .01) than those patients with positive PTEN expression. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that PTEN expression is an independent predictor of poor outcome when compared with tumor stage and nodal status.

Conclusions  Although genetic alterations of the PTEN gene are rare in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, loss of PTEN is not an uncommon event in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Lack of PTEN expression may be an independent prognostic indicator for clinical outcome in patients with this tumor type.

From the Bobby R. Alford Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Dr Lee); and the Molecular Biology Laboratory, Departments of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology (Drs Soria, Hassan, Tang, Hong, and Mao and Ms Liu) and Pathology (Dr El-Naggar), The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

RELATED ARTICLE

Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127(12):1521-1522.
FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Dissecting the Akt/Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Signaling Network: Emerging Results from the Head and Neck Cancer Tissue Array Initiative
Molinolo et al.
Clin. Cancer Res. 2007;13:4964-4973.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Inhibitors as Possible Adjuvant Therapy for Microscopic Residual Disease in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer
Nathan et al.
Cancer Res. 2007;67:2160-2168.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Combination of sublethal concentrations of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor and microtubule stabilizer induces apoptosis of glioblastoma cells
Failly et al.
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2007;6:773-781.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Mammalian Target of Rapamycin, a Molecular Target in Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Head and Neck
Amornphimoltham et al.
Cancer Res. 2005;65:9953-9961.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Preferential Inhibition of Akt and Killing of Akt-Dependent Cancer Cells by Rationally Designed Phosphatidylinositol Ether Lipid Analogues
Castillo et al.
Cancer Res. 2004;64:2782-2792.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT