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Cytoplasmic Ezrin and Moesin Correlate with Poor Survival in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Abstract

Members of the 4.1 superfamily of proteins, including ezrin, moesin, merlin, and willin regulate many normal physiologic processes such as cellular shape, motility, and proliferation. In addition, they contribute both to tumor development and tumor progression. We reported previously that strong cytoplasmic ezrin expression was independently associated with poorer patient survival. One hundred and thirty-one histologically confirmed primary head and neck squamous cell carcinomas were examined prospectively for cancer progression and survival at a large health care center in the Bronx, NY, USA. Immunohistochemical analysis of ezrin, moesin, merlin, and willin expression in tissue microarray samples of primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma revealed a significant association of increased cytoplasmic ezrin with poor cancer survival. Global RNA analyses suggest that cancers with high cytoplasmic ezrin have a more invasive phenotype. This study supports our previous findings associating cytoplasmic ezrin with more aggressive behavior and poorer outcome and indicates the need for a multi-institutional study to validate the use of cytoplasmic ezrin as a biomarker for treatment planning in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

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Acknowledgments

Contract grant sponsor: National Institutes of Health; Contract grant numbers: CA103547 (to MBP), CA115243 (to NFS), CA104402 (to TJB); Contract grant sponsor: UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (to FGM). The present study was supported by the Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. We thank the participants of this study; Catherine Sarta for her time and effort spent enrolling and following participants and with data entry, Gregory Rosenblatt for his assistance with data management and Dr. Joseph Locker for preparation of Fig. 1.

Conflict of interest

The authors disclose no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Nicolas F. Schlecht & Juan Lin

  2. Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Nicolas F. Schlecht

  3. Department of Pathology, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35249, USA

    Margaret Brandwein-Gensler

  4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Medical Arts Pavilion, 3400 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10467, USA

    Richard V. Smith

  5. Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Nicole Kawachi, Darcy Broughel, Christian E. Keller, Thomas Harris, Geoffrey Childs, Thomas J. Belbin & Michael B. Prystowsky

  6. School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9TF, Scotland, UK

    Paul A. Reynolds

  7. School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9TF, Scotland, UK

    Frank J. Gunn-Moore

Authors
  1. Nicolas F. Schlecht
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  2. Margaret Brandwein-Gensler
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Correspondence to Michael B. Prystowsky.

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Schlecht, N.F., Brandwein-Gensler, M., Smith, R.V. et al. Cytoplasmic Ezrin and Moesin Correlate with Poor Survival in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Head and Neck Pathol 6, 232–243 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-011-0328-1

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