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Galectin 7 (p53-Induced Gene 1): A New Prognostic Predictor of Recurrence and Survival in Stage IV Hypopharyngeal Cancer

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Abstract

Background

Eighty percent of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients have advanced stages (III and IV) of the disease, and biological markers are required to predict high-risk head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients in need of highly aggressive treatments after surgery to improve the survival rate. We analyzed the potential prognostic value of galectin 7 in a series of 81 stage IV hypopharyngeal SCCs because galectin 7 is an emerging marker involved in the epidermal development of pluristratified epithelia and in epidermal cell migration.

Methods

The immunohistochemical expression of galectin 7 was determined on a series of 81 stage IV hypopharyngeal SCCs and was compared with that of galectins 1 and 3.

Results

High levels of galectin 7 expression were associated with rapid recurrence rates and dismal prognoses in these 81 stage IV hypopharyngeal SCCs, a feature not observed with galectin 3 and one observed weakly, if at all, with galectin 1.

Conclusions

These data suggest that the immunohistochemical determination of galectin 7 expression in the case of high-risk hypopharyngeal cancers is a meaningful tool to identify patients who should benefit from aggressive postsurgical adjuvant therapy after surgery, including not only radiotherapy, but also chemotherapy.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS; Belgium), the Fonds Yvonne Boël (Belgium), and the Mizukani Foundation for Glycoscience (Japan). C.D. and R.K. are Senior Research Associate and Director of Research, respectively, at the FNRS. D.-R.C. is a medical student from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy (Craiova, Romania) and holds a grant from the Oficiul National al Burselor de Studii in Strainatate (Romania).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons-Hainaut, Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, Pentagone 1B, B-7000, Mons, Belgium

    Sven Saussez MD & Gérard Toubeau PhD

  2. Laboratory of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons-Hainaut, Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, Pentagone 1B, B-7000, Mons, Belgium

    Sven Saussez MD & Diana-Raluca Cucu

  3. Laboratory of Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacy, Free University of Brussels, Campus Plaine CP 205/1, Boulevard du Triomphe, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Christine Decaestecker PhD, Isabelle Camby PhD & Robert Kiss PhD

  4. Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Hôpital Claude Huriez–Centre Hospitalier Regional Universitaire, F-59037, Lille, France

    Dominique Chevalier MD

  5. Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Veterinärstr. 13, D-80539, Munich, Germany

    Herbert Kaltner Vet MD, Sabine André PhD & Hans-Joachim Gabius PhD

  6. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Hôpital Claude Huriez–Centre Hospitalier Regional Universitaire, F-59037, Lille, France

    Agnes Wacreniez MD

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  1. Sven Saussez MD
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  2. Diana-Raluca Cucu
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  3. Christine Decaestecker PhD
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  9. Isabelle Camby PhD
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  10. Hans-Joachim Gabius PhD
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  11. Robert Kiss PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Kiss PhD.

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Saussez, S., Cucu, DR., Decaestecker, C. et al. Galectin 7 (p53-Induced Gene 1): A New Prognostic Predictor of Recurrence and Survival in Stage IV Hypopharyngeal Cancer. Ann Surg Oncol 13, 999–1009 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1245/ASO.2006.08.033

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/ASO.2006.08.033

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