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A Model for Perineural Invasion in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: January 5, 2017
Heparanase expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma inversely correlates with patient survival
G Bar-Sela1, V Kaplan-Cohen, N Ilan
1Department of Oncology, Rambam Medical Centre, Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
Aims:
To determine the expression and prognostic significance of heparanase in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
Methods:
Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections of 46 patients with NPC. Clinical and immunohistochemical data were correlated with gender, age, histological type, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status, stage and survival.
Results:
Heparanase immunoreactivity was found in 35% (16/46) of specimens. The cumulative survival of patients diagnosed as heparanase negative (n = 30) at 10 years was 70%. In contrast, the cumulative survival of patients diagnosed as heparanase positive (n = 16) at 10 years was 25%, differences that are highly statistically significant (P = 0.03). No significant correlations were found between heparanase immunoreactivity and gender, age, EBV status, tumour histology or tumour stage.
Conclusion:
Heparanase expression is inversely correlated with survival of NPC patients, clearly indicating that heparanase is a reliable prognostic factor for this malignancy, and further supports the notion that heparanase is a valid target for the development of anti-cancer drugs.