Cortactin expression predicts poor survival in laryngeal carcinoma

Amplification of the 11q13 region is one of the most frequent aberrations in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck region (HNSCC). Amplification of 11q13 has been shown to correlate with the presence of lymph node metastases and decreased survival. The 11q13.3 amplicon carries numerous genes including cyclin D1 and cortactin. Recently, we reported that FADD becomes overexpressed upon amplification and that FADD protein expression predicts for lymph node positivity and disease-specific mortality. However, the gene within the 11q13.3 amplicon responsible for this correlation is yet to be identified. In this paper, we compared, using immunohistochemical analysis for cyclin D1, FADD and cortactin in a series of 106 laryngeal carcinomas which gene correlates best with lymph node metastases and increased disease-specific mortality. Univariate Cox regression analysis revealed that high expression of cyclin D1 (P=0.016), FADD (P=0.003) and cortactin (P=0.0006) predict for increased risk to disease-specific mortality. Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that only high cortactin expression correlates with disease-specific mortality independent of cyclin D1 and/or FADD. Of genes located in the 11q13 amplicon, cortactin expression is the best predictor for shorter disease-specific survival in late stage laryngeal carcinomas

Elimination of Pb2+ through electrocoagulation: applicability of adsorptive stripping voltammetry for monitoring the lead concentration during its elimination

The aim of this manuscript is to develop a combined method for the detection and remediation of Pb2+ species in aqueous environment. The electrocoagulation (EC) process of Pb2+ has been studied, using an electrolytic flow cell equipped with Al sacrificial electrodes and by working under galvanostatic conditions (by applying currents of 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 A). The concentration of Pb2+ during EC was monitored by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry (AdSV) and data were also confirmed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The experimental results of EC showed that the performances of the process slightly depend on the applied current; a complete removal of the pollutant is obtained in all cases, however with different treatment times (90, 75 and 45 min for 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 A, respectively). Furthermore, the AdSV, when compared with the AAS, has shown that the electroanalytical approach represents a fast and quite reliable alternative for monitoring heavy metal remediation applications