Mitsunobu Ono

BAG-1 expression correlates highly with the malignant potential in early lesions (T1 and T2) of oral squamous cell carcinoma

BAG-1 is a Bcl-2-binding protein that functions as an anti-apoptotic molecule. In this report we show a possible correlation between BAG-1 expression levels and the probability of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) progression. We investigated BAG-1 expression levels in 22 patients diagnosed with early lesions (T1 and T2) of oral SCCs using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. High steady-state levels of BAG-1 were detected in 13 out of 22 cases (59%). High BAG-1 expression was observed more frequently in cases with nodal metastasis (89%) than in those without nodal metastasis (38%) (P<0. 03), suggesting that BAG-1 expression levels may correlate with the pathological stage of oral SCCs. Furthermore, BAG-1 expression levels correlated with the WHO grade, i.e. 45% in grade-I cases as opposed to 72% in grade-II cases (P<0.02). These data suggest that an analysis of BAG-1 expression may be useful in establishing a prognosis for patients with oral SCCs, and especially in predicting the metastatic potential of SSCs.

Does Swallowing Function Recover in the Long Term in Patients With Surgically Treated Tongue Carcinomas

PURPOSE The present study aimed to measure postsurgical swallowing function in patients 5 years after the surgical treatment of tongue carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Using a retrospective cohort study design, the investigators enrolled postsurgical patients treated for tongue carcinomas in Hokkaido University Hospital. The primary outcome variable was oropharyngeal swallow efficiency (OPSE) determined by videofluoroscopic evaluation, and OPSE at follow-up was compared with that at discharge. Other variables included current nutritional status (body mass index, serum albumin), dietary intake, self-rating of current swallowing function, and occurrence of pneumonia. Statistical analysis used the paired t test and the Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS Swallowing function was assessed in 20 patients (11 men and 9 women) who underwent the surgical treatment of tongue carcinomas; the median age was 70 years (range, 56 to 90 yrs). The mean OPSE values for liquid and paste at follow-up were 26.6 ± 21.2 and 21.9 ± 22.5, respectively. The mean values for the body mass index and serum albumin at presentation were 22.2 ± 3.4 kg/m(2) and 4.5 ± 0.3 g/dL, respectively. All patients had a full oral intake of foods, with a mean self-rated value of 6.4 ± 2.5, a value acceptable to the patients. Pneumonia requiring hospitalization did not occur in these patients. CONCLUSIONS The long-term follow-up of patients after the surgical treatment of tongue carcinomas showed acceptable levels of oral function and nutritional status despite objective measurements of poor swallowing efficiency assessed using videofluoroscopy.

Pim-1 activation of cell motility induces the malignant phenotype of tongue carcinoma.

Pim-1 is a serine/threonine kinase as well as a proto-oncogene that induces T-cell lymphoma. Pim-1 induces cell cycle progression in cooperation with c-Myc and acts as an inhibitor of apoptotic cell death, actions that are involved in blood cell oncogenesis. However, little is known regarding the role of Pim-1 in oral carcinogenesis. We investigated Pim-1 expression in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and examined its clinicopathological features. Western blotting was performed in 6 oral SCC cell lines, with Pim-1 being detected in all 6 of the lines. Immunohistochemical detection of Pim-1 was carried out in 39 cases of tongue SCC and analyzed in terms of its associated clinicopathological features. Pim-1 was expressed in 17/39 cases of tongue carcinoma, and was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis. The role of Pim-1 in cell motility was further examined in HSC3 cells using the GTP-binding assay for Rho family protein, the motility assay and siRNA treatment. Rac1 activation was observed, and cell motility was reduced when Pim-1 was knocked down by siRNA. These results indicate that Pim-1 is involved in the carcinogenesis of oral SCC and is correlated to metastasis, which is in part associated with the enhancement of cell motility.

Distant metastases in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of oral cavity. Analysis of critical factors that influence development of distant metastasis with locoregional control.

口腔癌の遠隔転移発現に関与する因子を明らかにする目的で, 頸部転移様相をはじめとする臨床的・病理組織学的所見を検討した。1974年から1995年までに根治的治療を行った口腔扁平上皮癌535例中, 原発・頸部制御例は427例であった。頸部転移の有無で遠隔転移の発現率をみると頸部転移群では25/112 (22.3%) , 非転移群では5/315 (1.6%) で両群間に有意差がみられた (p<.001) 。このことより頸部転移群は遠隔転移のハイリスクグループであることが明らかとなった。今回ハイリスクグループである頸部転移群112例を対象に, さらに関連性の高い因子を検討すべく多重ロジスティック解析を行った。その結果, 転移リンパ節レベルのオッズ比が3.960と最も高く, レベルの進展した症例に対する遠隔転移の対策が必要と考えられた。