ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To investigate the expression and clinical significance of BATF2 in the oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Expression of BATF2 mRNA and protein in 16 paired OTSCC tissues and adjacent non-tumor mucosa were examined using quantitative PCR, western blotting analysis and immunohistochemistry assays, and the relation between BATF2 expression and clinical pathologic factor and prognosis was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In 16 paired tissues, expression of BATF2 mRNA in 13 OTSCC tissues and expression of BATF2 protein in 14 OTSCC tissues were significantly lower than that in adjacent non-tumor mucosa. In 202 paraffin-embedded OTSCC samples, BATF2 was not expressed in 20 cases (9.9%), low expressed in 104 cases (51.5%) and highly expressed in 78 (38.6%). BATF2 expression level was significantly correlated with histological differentiation (P = 0.002). Patients with low BATF2 expression had significantly poorer overall survival and disease-free survival than those with high BATF2 expression (P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>BATF2 was low expressed in OTSCC and related to tumor differentiation and prognosis and may serve as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for this disease.</p>