DJ-1 is frequently overexpressed in a large variety of solid tumors, but the DJ-1 expression in laryngeal squamous cell cancer and its clinical ⁄ prognostic significance is unclear. We aimed to evaluate DJ-1 protein expression in glottic squamous cell carcinoma (GSCC) and to correlate this with clinicopathological data including patient survival. The expression of DJ-1 in GSCCs (60) and adjacent normal tissue (44) was assessed by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. In addition, the role of DJ-1 was investigated in tumorigenesis by transfecting DJ1-specific siRNA into laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) Hep-2 cells. Our data showed that positive expression of DJ-1 was found in 85% of GSCCs. In univariate survival analysis of the GSCC cohorts, a highly significant association between DJ-1 expression with shortened patient overall survival (5-year survival rate 92.9% vs 66.6%; P = 0.001; log rank test) was demonstrated. In multivariate analyses, DJ-1, tumor grading, and pT status were significant prognostic parameters for shortened patient overall survival. Furthermore, siRNA targeting DJ-1 can effectively inhibit DJ-1 expression, resulting in enhanced apoptosis and less proliferation of Hep-2 cells. We concluded that DJ-1 overexpression might be a novel independent molecular marker for poor prognosis (shortened overall survival) of patients with GSCC. (Cancer Sci 2010; 101: 1320-1325 L aryngeal carcinoma accounts for approximately 2.4% of new malignancies worldwide every year, of which over 95% are of the squamous cell carcinoma.(1,2) Glottic squamous cell carcinoma (GSCC) is the most common type of laryngeal cancer. Patients with GSCC often display considerable variability in survival.(3) It is of general importance to predict the biology of the tumor and, thus, the course of the disease in the individual patient to ensure adequate therapy and patient surveillance. Conventional prognostic and predictive markers for GSCC are nodal status, tumor grade, tumor status, and tumor type.(3) Additionally, molecular markers are being sought and established to allow for a refined classification of prognosis, especially in patient subgroups whose outcome can only insufficiently be predicted by conventional parameters. These include, among others, activation of various oncogenes (Ras, (4,5) Myc,epidermal growth factor receptor,and cyclin D1 (8) ), and tumor suppressor gene inactivation (P53 and p16).(9,10) However, accurate and reliable biomarkers that serve for prognosis have yet to be identified.DJ-1 encodes a conserved protein belonging to the ThiJ ⁄ PfpI ⁄ DJ-1 superfamily.(11) The THEMATICS (theoretical microscopic titration curves) predicted eight DJ-1 family members and three different probable functional classes.(12) The exact molecular function of DJ-1 is still unclear although increasing evidence suggests that DJ-1 plays a role in cancer cell lines to protect against stress (13)(14)(15) and affects cell survival by modulating the phosphorylation status of protein kinase B (PKB) ⁄ Akt, (16)(17)(18)...