Studies on the Contribution of Cox-2 Expression in the Progression of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and H-Ras Activation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the H-ras and Cox-2 gene expression in tumors from Iranian Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) patients. Fresh tumor biopsies removed from oral cavity were collected from 67 new cases. Total RNA was extracted from biopsies and processed for quantification of H-ras and Cox-2 specific RNA expression using real-time PCR (QPCR). In addition, 59 gingival biopsies from apparently normal individuals were processed for QPCR assays. The results showed that Cox-2 expression at mRNA levels was at minimal levels in normal gingival biopsies. However, there was a surge in Cox-2 expression in tumor tissues (11.5 fold, p < 0.0001). Cox-2 expression was elevated depending on the tumor grade and there was a 1.7 fold increase (p = 0.003) in tumors diagnosed as MD/PD compared to that pathologically diagnosed as WD. This inflammatory marker was increased more significantly in smoker patients compared to non-smoker matching group. The H-ras expression at mRNA levels was significantly higher in OSCC samples compared to normal gingival (3 fold; p = 0.044). This expression was significantly higher in tumors diagnosed as MD/PD compared to WD (1.59 fold, p = 0.033). In conclusion, we found a correlation between H-ras expression and Cox-2 induction in OSCC tissue, suggesting that together these genes are contributing to cancer progression. Cox-2 is an early event in cancers of mucosal epithelial cells and a surge in Cox-2 expression in OSCC could be partly due to pro-inflammatory factors such as smoking.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of cancer stem cell marker CD44 and soluble CD44 in the peripheral Blood of patients with oral Squamous cell carcinoma

“…(It is the third most common malignancy in south-east Asia.) (2,6) Results: All grades of OSCC showed membranous immunosignaling of CD44. The well, moderately and poorly differentiated OSCC cases showed weak, moderate and intense positive membranous immunosignaling of CD44 respectively.…”

“…(1) Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common malignancy in humans and one of the most common malignant tumors of the oral and maxillofacial regions. (2) In 2008; 263,900 new cases of head and neck cancer were diagnosed and 128,000 deaths related to this malignancy have occurred worldwide. (1) Estimation reveals that 11 out of every 100,000 adults diagnosed every year with oral cancer.…”

Presence and Quantity of COX-2 in Lymph Node Metastases of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

“…The formation of regional and distant metastases is favored by the capacity of tumors to progress locally, which subsequently invade lymphatic and blood vessels, and promote neo-angiogenesis. Morita et al showed that COX-2 promotes tumor lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma [25]. In their study, they showed a positive correlation of COX-2 expression to VEGF-C expression, a potent stimulator of lymphangiogenesis.…”

Assessment of cellular and serum proteome from tongue squamous cell carcinoma patient lacking addictive proclivities for tobacco, betel nut, and alcohol: Case study

“…The relative Real Time PCR, quantifying the cDNA levels of the gene of interest in relation to the normalizer (housekeeping) gene, possesses high sensitivity and specificity. The relative Real Time PCR is a key method for analyzing the relative expressional changes exhibited by the gene(s) of interest during cancer initiation, progression and metastasis . GAPDH has been used as the normalizer gene in relative Real Time PCR analysis with OSCC lesions …”

“…The relative Real Time PCR is a key method for analyzing the relative expressional changes exhibited by the gene(s) of interest during cancer initiation, progression and metastasis. [44][45][46] GAPDH has been used as the normalizer gene in relative Real Time PCR analysis with OSCC lesions. [47][48][49][50] The given case study centers on the young (36 years, female) early stage diagnosed OSCC case lacking addictive proclivities for tobacco, betel nut, and alcohol.…”