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Molecular Diagnostics
Genome-Scale Biology Research Program, Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 8, P.O. Box 63, 00014 Helsinki, Finland;
Department of Pathology, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 21, Haartmaninkatu 3, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; 3Department of Surgery,
Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box 340, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland; 4Department of Oral Pathology, Institute of Dentistry, University of
Helsinki, P.O. Box 41, Mannerheimintie 172, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; 5Department of Pathology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box
400, Haartmaninkatu 3, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland; 6Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Central
Hospital, P.O. Box 220, Haartmaninkatu 4E, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland; 7Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, P.O. Box 20, 00014 Helsinki,
Finland
No reliable prognostic markers exist for squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, and its prognosis can even in early
stages be unpredictable and survival poor despite treatment. A potential marker is oncoprotein cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A),
which acts as a prognostic marker in gastric and non-small cell lung cancers.
METHODS: We collected specimens of 73 stage T1N0M0 and T2N0M0 oral squamous cell carcinomas of the tongue, as well as
samples from normal oral mucosa, dysplastic lesions, and invasive carcinomas (n 39). All samples were stained for CIP2A by
immunohistochemistry. Survival curves were constructed according to the Kaplan Meier method. The Cox proportional hazard
model served for univariate and multivariate survival analysis.
RESULTS: High CIP2A immunoreactivity predicted poor survival in tongue cancer patients (P 0.027, logrank test). In multivariate
survival analysis, CIP2A was an independent prognostic factor (HR 2.02, 95% confidence interval 1.07 3.82, P 0.030). Cytoplasmic
CIP2A expression was higher in severe dysplasia than in mild dysplasia.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that high CIP2A expression characterises aggressive disease. Acting as a prognostic marker it might
be of help when choosing patients for adjuvant treatment in tongue cancer patients.
British Journal of Cancer (2011) 104, 1890 1895. doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.167 www.bjcancer.com
Published online 24 May 2011
& 2011 Cancer Research UK
BACKGROUND:
1891
Tissue samples
Scoring of immunoreactivity
Tumour specimens were scored independently from whole
sections (hot-spot areas) and tissue microarrays by two researchers (CB and JH) blinded to clinical status and outcome data.
Cytoplasmic CIP2A immunopositivity was scored as 0 3 based on
the intensity of cancer-cell immunoreactivity, and the highest
intensity of the six cores was used for further analysis. Negative
immunoreactivity was scored as 0, and diffuse weak cytoplasmic
positivity as 1. Moderately positive or focally strongly positive
intensity was scored as 2, and homogeneously strong intensity as 3.
In normal mucosa, dysplastic lesions, and invasive carcinoma
specimens, cytoplasmic CIP2A immunoreactivity was scored as
described, and nuclear CIP2A immunoreactivity was evaluated for
trend. Specimens with discordant scores underwent re-evaluation
with a multiheaded microscope, and the consensus score served
for further analysis. For survival analysis, we were able to score 71
(97%) patient samples for CIP2A. For statistical analysis, the
patients were divided into two groups: low CIP2A immunoreactivity (scores 0 2) and high immunoreactivity (score 3).
Associations between CIP2A positivity and clinicopathologic variables were assessed by the w2-test. Overall survival was calculated
from date of diagnosis to death, while disease-specific survival was
calculated from date of diagnosis to death from tongue cancer.
Survival curves were constructed according to the Kaplan Meier
method and compared with the logrank test (SPSS version 17.0 for
Mac; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). For univariate and multivariate
survival analysis, the Cox proportional hazard model had the
following categorical covariates entered in a backward stepwise
manner: tumour size (pT-classification), grade, invasion depth of
the tumour, Ki-67 expression, and CIP2A expression.
Immunohistochemistry
RESULTS
Statistical analysis
Figure 1 Cytoplasmic CIP2A expression in tongue cancer specimens was scored as (A) negative, (B) moderately positive, and (C) strongly positive.
Original magnification was 200.
& 2011 Cancer Research UK
Molecular Diagnostics
1892
immunoreactivity was a marker of reduced overall survival with a
5-year survival of 59.4% (95% CI 42.4 76.4) for the patients with
strongly positive CIP2A, compared with 74.4% (95% CI 60.7 88.1)
for those with low CIP2A expression (logrank test, P 0.027;
Figure 2A). For disease-specific survival, 5-year survival for
patients with strongly positive CIP2A was 71.0% (95% CI 55.0
87.0) compared with 84.6% (95% CI 73.3 96.0) for patients with
low CIP2A immunoreactivity (logrank test, P 0.038; Figure 2B).
High CIP2A
expression
Clinicopathological
variable
P-valuea
Age, years
o60
X60
36
35
19
20
52.8
57.1
17
15
47.2
42.9
0.712
Gender
Male
Female
37
34
18
21
48.6
61.8
19
13
51.4
38.2
0.267
Grade
I
II
III
23
34
14
18
17
4
78.3
50.0
28.6
5
17
10
21.7
50.0
71.4
0.009
Tumour size, mm
pT1 (p20)
pT2 (21 40)
54
16
30
9
55.6
56.3
24
7
44.4
43.8
0.961
Node positivity
pN0
pN+
26
14
16
5
61.5
35.7
10
9
38.5
64.3
0.119
Invasion depth, mm
p4
44
27
44
19
20
70.4
45.5
8
24
29.6
54.5
0.041
Ki-67, %
0 29
30 49
50 79
X80
13
23
14
16
8
18
6
4
61.5
78.3
42.9
25.0
5
5
8
12
38.5
21.7
57.1
75.0
0.008
P = 0.027
P = 0.038
1.0
0.8
Cumulative survival
Cumulative survival
1.0
Low CIP2A
0.6
0.4
0.2
High CIP2A
Low CIP2A
0.8
0.6
High CIP2A
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.0
0
Patients at risk
Low CIP2A expression: 39
High CIP2A expression: 32
10
15
20
21
7
0
Patients at risk
Low CIP2A expression: 39
High CIP2A expression: 32
3
3
P = 0.124
1.0
Cumulative survival
Cumulative survival
Molecular Diagnostics
Low CIP2A
0.8
0.6
0.4
High CIP2A
0.2
0.0
10
15
20
21
7
3
3
P = 0.018
1.0
0.8
Low CIP2A
0.6
0.4
High CIP2A
0.2
0.0
0
Patients at risk
Low CIP2A expression: 30
High CIP2A expression: 24
5
10
15
Years from diagnosis
23
16
16
6
3
3
20
0
Patients at risk
Low CIP2A expression:
High CIP2A expression:
9
7
5
10
Years from diagnosis
6
2
15
5
1
Figure 2 CIP2A expression and survival in tongue cancer patients. (A) Overall survival analysis according to the Kaplan Meier method for cytoplasmic
CIP2A immunoreactivity (logrank test, P 0.027). (B) Disease-specific overall survival analysis for cytoplasmic CIP2A immunoreactivity (logrank test,
P 0.038). (C) Overall survival analysis stratified for patients with pT1 tumours (logrank test, P 0.124), and (D) pT2 tumours (logrank test, P 0.018).
British Journal of Cancer (2011) 104(12), 1890 1895
1893
In multivariate survival analysis, age over 60 years (hazard ratio
(HR) 2.18, 95% CI 1.11 4.28, P 0.023), tumour size 21 40 mm
(HR 2.48, 95% CI 1.19 5.17, P 0.016), and high CIP2A
expression (HR 2.02, 95% CI 1.07 3.82, P 0.030; Table 3)
remained as independent prognostic factors.
Characteristic
5-year
survival
5-year
survival
P-valuea
Age, years
o60
X60
84.2
65.0
67.8 100.1
44.1 85.9
58.8
60.0
35.4 82.2
35.2 84.8
0.042
0.347
Tumour size, mm
pT1 (p20)
pT2 (21 40)
76.7
66.7
61.5 91.8
35.9 97.5
66.7
28.6
47.8 85.5
0 62.0
0.124
0.018
Table 3
High CIP2A
expression
95% CI
DISCUSSION
Tumour type
Total
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
1
2
4
2
1
1
1
0
3
4
2
6
0
0
0
1
0
0
3
3
5
1
6
8
4
10
Variable
Hazard ratio
95% CI
P-value
Hazard ratio
95% CI
P-value
Age, years
o60
X60
1.00
1.84
0.96 3.45
0.056
2.18
1.11 4.28
0.023
Gender
Male
Female
1.00
0.97
0.52 1.79
0.916
Grade
I
II
III
1.00
1.95
1.88
0.93 4.11
0.74 4.81
0.079
0.185
Tumour size, mm
pT1 (p20)
pT2 (21 40)
1.00
1.10
0.97 3.76
0.062
2.48
1.19 5.17
0.016
Invasion depth, mm
p4
44
1.00
2.20
1.10 4.40
0.025
Ki-67, %
0 29
30 49
50 79
X80
1.00
1.30
1.44
1.23
0.53 3.18
0.52 4.00
0.46 3.33
0.561
0.483
0.682
CIP2A expression
Low
High
1.00
1.99
1.07 3.70
0.030
2.02
1.07 3.82
0.030
Molecular Diagnostics
Low CIP2A
expression
(Table 4; Figure 3A). As a trend, cytoplasmic CIP2A expression was higher in severe epithelial dysplasia than in mild
dysplasia, compared with nuclear CIP2A, which was low in
severe dysplasia but was expressed to a greater extent in lesions
with mild dysplasia (Figure 3B D). In invasive carcinomas,
cytoplasmic CIP2A protein expression was either low (Figure 3E)
or high (Figure 3F).
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Figure 3 Characterisation of CIP2A expression during development of oral squamous epithelial dysplasia. (A) Normal oral mucosa with basal cytoplasmic
CIP2A positivity (arrow) serving as a control specimen. (B) Severe dysplasia where nuclear positivity disappears (arrow) in oral buccal mucosa.
(C) Transition area (asterisk) to carcinoma in situ from the anterior palatinal mucosa. (D) Epithelial budding (arrow) in mucosal tissue transforming into
carcinoma. (E) Mild and (F) strong CIP2A immunoexpression in invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Molecular Diagnostics
1895
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CIP2A antibody was a kind gift from Dr Edward K Chan,
University of Florida, USA. We thank Anne Aarnio, Elina Aspiala,
Tuire Koski, and Paivi Peltokangas for their excellent technical
assistance. This work was financially supported by Finska
Lakaresallskapet (CB and CH), the Finnish Cancer Society (AR),
Molecular Diagnostics
REFERENCES
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