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MAGE-A1–6   expression in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: impact on clinical patterns and oncologic outcomes

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Abstract

Background

Various subtypes of melanoma-associated antigens (MAGEs) are expressed in the tumor tissues of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, little data are currently available on how the gene expression of MAGEs impacts clinical patterns and oncologic outcomes. We have therefore evaluated the expression of MAGE-A1–6 (A1–6) subtypes in tumor tissues of patients with HNSCC and the clinical impact of this expression.

Methods

This was a retrospective review of 53 patients with histologically proven HNSCC of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, or hypopharynx who underwent both treatment and analysis by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay with a common primer to identify the expression of MAGE-A1–6 subtypes in the tumor tissue. The clinicopathologic factors and oncologic outcomes of these patients and the correlations of both to MAGE-A1–6 gene expression were analyzed.

Results

MAGE-A1–6 subtypes were expressed in the tumor tissues of 37 patients (69.8 %). Patient age of ≥65 years [p = 0.031, hazard ratio (HR) 4.866] and advanced American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (p = 0.035, HR 4.291) were independent risk factors for expression of MAGE-A1–6 subtypes. Patients with MAGE-A1–6 expression had lower disease-free survival (p = 0.029), disease-specific survival (p = 0.070), and overall survival (p = 0.017) rates. Overall survival rate was independently associated to chemotherapy (p = 0.011, HR 2.859), while no surgery (p = 0.050, HR 2.400) and MAGE-A1–6 expression (p = 0.050, HR 2.527) showed borderline significance.

Conclusion

In our patient group the expression of MAGE-A1–6 subtypes in tumor tissues of patients with HNSCC was correlated with advanced clinical stage of cancer and poor oncologic outcomes. We suggest that gene expression of MAGE-A1–6 subtypes may be considered to be a predictive factor to determine patient treatment or follow-up strategy.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Kosin University Graduate School, Busan, South Korea

      Sang Tae Noh

    2. Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Kosin University College of Medicine, 34, Amnam-Dong, Seo-Gu, Busan, 602-715, Republic of Korea

      Hyoung Shin Lee, Sung Won Kim & Kang Dae Lee

    3. Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea

      Soo Jin Lim

    4. Department of Pathology, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea

      Hee Kyung Chang

    5. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea

      Junghwan Oh

    6. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea

      Chang-Ho Jeon

    7. Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea

      Jong Wook Park

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    1. Sang Tae Noh
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    Correspondence to Kang Dae Lee.

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    S. T. Noh and H. S. Lee contributed equally to this work and both can be considered as first author.

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    Noh, S.T., Lee, H.S., Lim, S.J. et al. MAGE-A1–6   expression in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: impact on clinical patterns and oncologic outcomes. Int J Clin Oncol 21, 875–882 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-016-0989-6

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-016-0989-6

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