Overexpression of chemerin was associated with tumor angiogenesis and poor clinical outcome in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to explore expression and clinical significance of chemerin, a newly discovered adipokine, in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue (SCCOT). METHODS: mRNA expression of chemerin in 19 pairs of fresh SCCOT samples matched with peritumoral mucosa tissues was quantified by real-time quantitative transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Chemerin protein expression and microvessel density (MVD) were measured by immunohistochemistry on 147 cases of primary SCCOT specimen and their corresponding peritumoral noncancerous tissues. The relationship of chemerin expression with angiogenesis, clinicopathologic parameters, and cancer-related survival of patients was evaluated. RESULTS: Both qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry results revealed that chemerin was overexpressed in SCCOT compared with peritumoral noncancerous tissues (P < 0.01). Overexpression of chemerin in SCCOT was significantly associated with poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and high clinical stage (P = 0.000, 0.012, and 0.015, respectively). In addition, overexpression of chemerin was positively related to MVD in SCCOT (r = 0.671, P = 0.002). SCCOT patients with overexpressed chemerin had a shorter cancer-related survival (P = 0.027). Moreover, multivariate survival analysis indicated that chemerin was an independent prognostic factor for SCCOT patients (P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that overexpression of chemerin in SCCOT was correlated with tumor angiogenesis and poor clinical outcomes of SCCOT patients. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our research implied that chemerin was a novel prognostic factor for SCCOT patients, and chemerin could be a new therapeutic target for regulating tumor angiogenesis and blocking tumor progression.