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Expression of podoplanin in the invasion front of oral squamous cell carcinoma is not prognostic for survival

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Abstract

Podoplanin is involved in actin remodeling of the cytoskeleton of tumor cells and may promote tumor cell invasion by increasing cell motility and formation of filopodia-like membrane protrusions. Podoplanin is expressed in a variety of tumors, but its role in head and neck cancer, particularly in oral squamous cell carcinoma, remains unclear. We studied podoplanin expression by immunohistochemistry in 92 oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) using a monoclonal antibody against an epitope of podoplanin (D2-40). In terms of the number of stained cells, 34 OSCC (38 %) had low podoplanin expression (less than 33 % of cells), 33 (36 %) showed moderate expression (between 34 and 66 % of cells), and 21 (22 %) showed high expression. The intensity of immunostaining was strong in 26 (28 %) cases, moderate in 36 (40 %), and weak or negative in the remaining 30 tumors (32 %). Immunohistochemical expression of podoplanin was associated with a tumor histological grade. A diffuse pattern of podoplanin expression significantly decreased in moderately differentiated (37 %) and poorly differentiated (20 %) carcinomas compared to well-differentiated (43 %) carcinomas. In addition, the focal expression of podoplanin in the invasion front of the tumor, without expression in the tumor center, was observed in 72 % of well-differentiated tumors, 27 % of moderate tumors, and 0 % of poorly differentiated tumors. Moreover, a trend was found toward an association of diffuse podoplanin staining with the development of second primary carcinomas (13 %), in contrast to its expression in the invasion front (3 %). No association was observed between podoplanin expression and nodal metastasis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Marino Santirso, who acted as the language consultant for the final edited version. The authors disclosed that they have no significant relationships with or financial interest in any commercial companies pertaining to this article. This study was supported by grants from the Plan Nacional de I + D + I 2013–2016 ISCIII (CP13/00013 and PI13/00259), RD12/0036/0015 of Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer (RTICC), Spain, and the FEDER Funding Program from the European Union.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA), C/Carretera de Rubín, s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

    Juan Carlos de Vicente & Tania Rodríguez Santamarta

  2. Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), C/Fernando Bongera s/n. Edificio “Santiago Gascón” 1a planta Campus El Cristo B., 33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

    Juan Carlos de Vicente, Juan Pablo Rodrigo, Juana María García-Pedrero & Eva Allonca

  3. Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA), C/Carretera de Rubín, s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

    Juan Pablo Rodrigo

  4. Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA), C/Carretera de Rubín, s/n, 33011, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

    Verónica Blanco-Lorenzo

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  1. Juan Carlos de Vicente
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Correspondence to Juan Carlos de Vicente.

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de Vicente, J.C., Santamarta, T.R., Rodrigo, J.P. et al. Expression of podoplanin in the invasion front of oral squamous cell carcinoma is not prognostic for survival. Virchows Arch 466, 549–558 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-015-1746-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-015-1746-3

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