Glucose Transporter 1 and Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α is Indicators of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Aggressiveness and Poor Prognosis: A Case Control Study

Abstract

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common and aggressive malignancy with a high morbidity and mortality profile. Increased levels of expression of the tumor hypoxia markers, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT-1), are indicators of poor prognosis in carcinoma.Materials and methods: This study involved detection of HIF-1α and GLUT-1 expression with a mean follow-up period of 10 years in 69 cases of HNSCC (23 cases of hypopharyngeal carcinoma and 46 of laryngeal carcinoma) and 30 controls (15 cases of vocal cord polyps and 15 of leukoplakia). The χ2 test, Fisher’s exact probability method, Pearson’s test, Kaplan–Meier method, Cox proportional hazards regression model of SPSS version 22.0 was used. In all analyses, P < 0.05 was taken to indicate statistical significance.Results: Compared with inflammatory and precancerous lesion tissues, the levels of GLUT-1 and HIF-1α expression were significantly increased in HNSCC (P < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between HIF-1α and GLUT-1 (r = 0.338, P = 0.004). GLUT-1 expression was significantly associated with primary tumor site (P = 0.032), clinical stage (P = 0.036), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.032), and distant metastasis (P = 0.002). HIF-1α expression was significantly related to recurrence (P = 0.013), distant metastasis (P = 0.044), second primary cancer (P = 0.040), and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.029). The OS of the 69 patients with HNSCC was significantly associated with the primary tumor site (P = 0.024), clinical stage (P = 0.041), and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.039). Conclusion: The increased levels of GLUT-1 and HIF-1α expression may serve as molecular markers for diagnosis of HNSCC. High GLUT-1 and HIF-1α expression, especially HIF-1α expression, may be indicators of HNSCC aggressiveness and poor prognosis.

Ultrastructural and Molecular Evidence of Macroautophagy in Functioning PitNETs and Experimental Pituitary Tumors

“…The molecule association of Ki67 and macroautophagy is controversial. Different authors have shown that positive Beclin1 expression is associated with a higher Ki67 index, indicating that high Beclin1 expression may lead to cellular proliferation [56][57][58]. However, some other studies have failed to find this relationship [59].…”