ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) predominantly affects males in the fifth decade of life; nevertheless, an increased incidence in young patients has been reported worldwide, and the clinical and behavioral characteristics of tumors in this group are controversial, and the literature shows divergent results. PURPOSE: To investigate the clinicopathological features and prognostic significance of the immunoexpression of cell cycle and local invasion proteins in OSCC affecting young patients (≤40 years old). METHODS: A tissue microarray was performed with 132 OSCC samples (61 cases of young patients vs 71 cases of elderly patients) and submitted to immunohistochemical reactions with Ki67, p53, p16, Bcl-2, Cyclin D1, C-ErbB2, p21, Myc, EGFR, MMP-9, SMA, Cathepsin K and FGF-2 antibodies. RESULTS: Clinicopathological features and survival rates were similar in both groups. Although overexpression of EGFR (P=.042) and MMP-9 (P=.001) was more frequent in young patients, only C-ErbB-2 (P=.048) and SMA (P=.048) expression correlated with lower disease-free survival (DFS) in this group of patients. CONCLUSION: Clinicopathological features and survival rates are similar between younger and older patients with OSCC. The different patterns of C-ErbB2, EGFR, MMP-9, and SMA expression between the groups merits further investigation to understand their role in the early tumor onset in young patients.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism , Cell Cycle Checkpoints/physiology , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/physiology , Mouth Neoplasms/metabolism , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Brazil , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/genetics , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology , Cathepsin K/metabolism , Cell Cycle Checkpoints/genetics , Cyclin D1/metabolism , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16/metabolism , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21/metabolism , Disease-Free Survival , Epithelial Cells/pathology , ErbB Receptors/metabolism , Female , Fibroblast Growth Factor 2/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/genetics , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Ki-67 Antigen/metabolism , Male , Matrix Metalloproteinase 9/metabolism , Middle Aged , Mouth Neoplasms/genetics , Mouth Neoplasms/mortality , Mouth Neoplasms/pathology , Neoplasm Proteins/genetics , Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism , Prognosis , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc/metabolism , Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism , Survival Rate , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolismABSTRACT
A totally effective, antimalarial vaccine must involve sporozoite and merozoite proteins (or their fragments) to ensure complete parasite blocking during critical invasion stages. This Special Report examines proteins involved in critical biological functions for parasite survival and highlights the conserved amino acid sequences of the most important proteins involved in sporozoite invasion of hepatocytes and merozoite invasion of red blood cells. Conserved high activity binding peptides are located in such proteins' functionally strategic sites, whose functions are related to receptor binding, nutrient and protein transport, enzyme activity and molecule-molecule interactions. They are thus excellent targets for vaccine development as they block proteins binding function involved in invasion and also their biological function.