ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the expression of heparanase in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the relationship between the expression of it and clinically pathological features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.@*METHOD@#The expression of heparanase protein in 70 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinomas and 10 cases of normal nasopharyngeal tissues was detected by immunohistochemical staining. The date of expression combined clinical features, which included clinical stage, cervical lymph node metastasis rate, the rate of metastasis and recurrence, combination of, the 5-year survival rate, and other analysis, was analyzed.@*RESULT@#The positive rate of heparanase protein in cancerous tissues was 52.9% (37/70), while it was 0% in normal nasopharyngeal tissues. The positive rates of heparanase protein in patients were 30.0% (6/20) in stage I, 45.80% (11/24) in stage II, 70.6% (12/17) in stage III, 88.9% (8/9) in stage IV respectively. Heparanase positive tumors were associated with a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (67.4%, 31/46) than heparanase negative ones (25.0%, 6/24). The rate of distant metastasis and regional recurrence in the heparanase positive group was 48.6% (18/37), but only 15.2% (5/ 33) in the heparanase negative group. The cumulative survival of patients in the heparanase negative group at 5 years was 78.8% (26/33), but only 24.3% (9/37) in the heparanase positive group. The clinical stage of disease, lymph node metastasis, the rate of distant metastasis and regional recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were correlated with positive expression of heparanase protein.@*CONCLUSION@#The expression of HPA was associated with invasion and metastasis and prognosis of nasopharyngeal cancer, and it may be a new target for the anti-treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer. (P < 0.01), and heparanase expression level inversely correlated with the patient survival (P < 0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#Heparanase may play important roles in the invasive infiltration, metastasis, and prognosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, clearly indicating that heparanase is a possible target for anticancer drug development.