Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the face: report of a case

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Co-overexpression of cortactin and CRKII increases migration and invasive potential in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Cortactin stimulates cell migration, invasion, and experimental metastasis. Overexpression of cortactin has been reported in several human cancers. CRK was originally identified as an oncogene product of v-CRK in a CT10 chicken retrovirus system. Overexpression of CRKII has been reported in several human cancers. CRKII regulates cell migration, morphogenesis, invasion, phagocytosis, and survival; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We evaluated the possibility of the combination of cortactin and CRKII as an appropriate molecular target for cancer gene therapy. The expression of cortactin and CRKII in 70 primary oral squamous cell carcinomas and 10 normal oral mucosal specimens was determined immunohistochemically, and the correlation of cortactin and CRKII co-overexpression with clinicopathological factors was evaluated. Co-overexpression of cortactin and CRKII was detected in 31 of 70 oral squamous cell carcinomas, the frequency being significantly greater than in normal oral mucosa. In addition, cortactin and CRKII co-overexpression was more frequent in higher-grade cancers according to the T classification, N classification, and invasive pattern. RNAi-mediated co-suppression of cortactin and CRKII expression reduced the migration and invasion potential of an oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line, OSC20. Downregulation of cortactin and CRKII expression also reduced the expression of vimentin, fibronectin, and N-cadherin. These results indicate that the co-overexpression of cortactin and CRKII may be tightly associated with an aggressive phenotype of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, we propose that the combination of cortactin and CRKII could be a potential molecular target of gene therapy by RNAi-targeting in oral squamous cell carcinoma

FOXC2 Expression is Associated with Tumor Proliferation and Invasion Potential in Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Forkhead box protein C2 (FOXC2) is a gene encoding a transcription factor that controls the generation of mesodermal tissue including vascular and lymphatic tissues. FOXC2 has previously been associated with EMT and tumor angiogenesis in various cancers. Moreover, a relationship between the expression of FOXC2 and poor prognosis has been reported in various cancers. We herein examined the clinicopathological significance of FOXC2 in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) and attempted to clarify the function of FOXC2 in OTSCC cell lines in vitro. The overexpression of FOXC2 was more frequent in cancers with higher grades according to the pattern of invasion (grade 4 vs. 1?3; p < 0.05). A correlation was observed between the expression of FOXC2 and that of VEGF-A and -C (VEGF-A; p < 0.05, VEGF-C; p < 0.001). The high-FOXC2 expression group had a significantly poorer prognosis than that of the low-expression group (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that the overexpression of FOXC2 may also be an independent prognostic factor, similar to N classification (N0 vs 1/2; p < 0.05), stage classification (stage I/II vs III/IV; p < 0.05), pattern of invasion (grade 1-3vs 4; p < 0.05), local recurrence (local recurrence (+) vs (?); p < 0.01), and the overexpression of FOXC2 (FOXC2 overexpression (?) vs.(+); p < 0.05). In the OTSCC cell line analysis, the expression of FOXC2 was also associated with proliferation and invasion potential. These results strongly suggest that the overexpression of FOXC2 may be a potent predictor of survival in OTSCC patients

Spatial distribution of cancer stem cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108036/1/jop12169.pd