Overexpression of HIF-1α indicates a poor prognosis in tongue carcinoma and may be associated with tumour metastasis

Zheng,Yang; Ni,Yanhong; Huang,Xiaofeng; Wang,Zhiyong; Han,Wei

doi:10.3892/ol.2013.1185

Overexpression of HIF-1α indicates a poor prognosis in tongue carcinoma and may be associated with tumour metastasis

Authors:
- Yang Zheng
- Yanhong Ni
- Xiaofeng Huang
- Zhiyong Wang
- Wei Han
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Affiliations: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Stomatological Hospital Affiliated Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China, Central Laboratory of Stomatology, Stomatological Hospital Affiliated Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China, Department of Pathology, Stomatological Hospital Affiliated Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, P.R. China
Published online on: February 7, 2013 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2013.1185
Pages: 1285-1289

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Abstract

Expression of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) plays a key role in cellular adaptation to hypoxia, particularly in relation to tumour angiogenesis. Expression of the HIF-1α subunit is responsive to changes in oxygen levels. Overexpression of HIF-1α has been reported to be associated with a poor prognosis in a variety of malignant tumours. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the expression of HIF-1α in tongue carcinoma was associated with established clinicopathological features. Tumour specimens from 120 patients with histologically-proven, surgically-treated tongue carcinoma were examined by immunohistochemical staining for expression of HIF-1α. The mRNA levels of HIF-1α were measured in 45 fresh, paired samples of tongue carcinoma and corresponding adjacent normal tissues using quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). HIF-1α was found to be frequently overexpressed in tumours in a hypoxia-independent manner. The expression of HIF-1α correlated with the five-year survival rate (P<0.01) and disease-free period (P<0.01). Increased expression of HIF-1α correlated significantly with clinical stage (P=0.002) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.034). Compared with paired normal tissues, HIF-1α mRNA levels were significantly increased in carcinoma of the tongue. A positive correlation was observed between HIF-1α mRNA levels and pathological differentiation grade. A significant difference in the levels of HIF-1α expression was detected between groups of patients with lymph node metastases and patients with no metastases. These results indicate that overexpression of HIF-1α may be an indicator of poor prognosis in carcinoma of the tongue. The expression of HIF-1α may be associated with lymph node metastasis.

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