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Expression of Amino Acid Transporters (LAT1 and ASCT2) in Patients with Stage III/IV Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Pathology & Oncology Research

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) expression in patients with advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). A total of 73 patients with advanced LSCC were retrospectively reviewed. Tumor sections were stained by immunohistochemistry for LAT1, 4F2hc, system ASC amino acid transporter-2 (ASCT2), cell proliferation by Ki-67, microvessel density (MVD) determined by CD34 and p53. A positive LAT1, 4F2hc and ASCT2 expression (staining more than a quarter) in the primary sites were recognized in 85, 80 and 45 %, respectively, and a high LAT1, 4F2hc and ASCT2 expression (staining more than a half) yielded 48, 31 and 18 %, respectively. High expression of LAT1 was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, 4F2hc, ASCT2, Ki-67 and p53. The expression of LAT1 was significantly correlated with ASCT2, 4F2hc, cell proliferation, and MVD. By univariate analysis, there was no statistically significant relationship between LAT1 expression and prognosis in advanced LSCC. LAT1, 4F2hc and ASCT2 were highly expressed in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer. Our study suggests that the expression of LAT1 plays a crucial role in the metastasis and tumor progression in advanced LSCC.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by Grant 23591750 (K. K) and Grant 23592523 (K. C) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, and National Hospital Organization Policy Based Medical Services. We thank Ms. Chizuko Tomioka for their technical assistance of immunohistochemical analysis.

Conflicts of Interest

We, all authors, have no financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence our work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan

    Osamu Nikkuni, Minoru Toyoda, Masato Shino, Koichi Sakakura, Katsumasa Takahashi & Kazuaki Chikamatsu

  2. Department of Oncology Clinical Development, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan

    Kyoichi Kaira & Takayuki Asao

  3. Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan

    Tetsunari Oyama

  4. Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan

    Noboru Oriuchi

  5. Advanced Clinical Research Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan

    Hideyuki Tominaga

  6. Department of Head & Neck Surgery, Gunma Prefectural Cancer Center, Ota, Japan

    Osamu Nikkuni & Masami Suzuki

  7. Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratories, Gunma Prefectural Cancer Center, Ota, Japan

    Misa Iijima

  8. Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Oncology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan

    Masahiko Nishiyama

  9. Division of Bio-system Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    Shushi Nagamori & Yoshikatsu Kanai

Authors
  1. Osamu Nikkuni
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  2. Kyoichi Kaira
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  3. Minoru Toyoda
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  4. Masato Shino
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  5. Koichi Sakakura
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  6. Katsumasa Takahashi
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  7. Hideyuki Tominaga
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  8. Noboru Oriuchi
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  9. Masami Suzuki
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  10. Misa Iijima
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  11. Takayuki Asao
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  12. Masahiko Nishiyama
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  13. Shushi Nagamori
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  14. Yoshikatsu Kanai
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  15. Tetsunari Oyama
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  16. Kazuaki Chikamatsu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyoichi Kaira.

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Nikkuni, O., Kaira, K., Toyoda, M. et al. Expression of Amino Acid Transporters (LAT1 and ASCT2) in Patients with Stage III/IV Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Pathol. Oncol. Res. 21, 1175–1181 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12253-015-9954-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12253-015-9954-3

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