KAI1 COOH-terminal interacting tetraspanin (KITENIN) expression in early and advanced laryngeal cancer

To investigate the expression of KAI1 COOH-terminal interacting tetraspanin (KITENIN) in patients with laryngeal cancers and to examine the correlation between its expression and various clinical and pathological variables.

Cross-sectional study with planned data collection.

Tumor specimens were collected from 32 patients with laryngeal squamous carcinoma (collection of consecutive 32 tumor samples; 14 early stage, 18 advanced stage). Expression of KITENIN in the tissues obtained was determined by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical staining. The patient characteristics including age, gender, tumor location, histology, stage, tumor extent, lymph node metastasis, and survival were obtained by review of the hospital records.

KITENIN expression was significantly increased in laryngeal cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissue mucosa, as well as in metastatic lymph nodes compared to nonmetastatic lymph nodes. High KITENIN expression was significantly associated with advanced stage, tumor extent, and lymph node metastasis (P = .016, .016, and .005, respectively). There was no difference in the overall survival and disease-free survival between the low- and high-KITENIN expression groups among patients with laryngeal cancer.

These results suggest that KITENIN expression may be associated with tumor progression in patients with laryngeal cancer. Further studies are needed to determine whether KITENIN expression adds prognostic value to conventional factors, such as the stage and status of metastasis, in a large series with a long period of follow-up.