Prognostic value of c-Met expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Expression of c-Met, an oncogene encoding the receptor for the hepatocyte growth factor, was found to be associated with the progression of various types of human carcinomas including squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. This study was performed to analyze the prognostic role of c-Met in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) by detecting its expression in relation to clinicopathological features. Two hundred and eleven patients with OSCC were analyzed for c-Met expression by immunohistochemistry. Specimens with ≥50% of cancer cells showing staining for c-Met were considered c-Met-positive. A pairwise multiple-comparison procedure (Fisher's exact test) and survival analyses using the Kaplan-Meier method were used to analyze the data. One hundred and seventy-five patients (82.9%) showed positivity for c-Met, while 36 patients (17.1%) showed no immunopositivity. In contrast to published studies, there was no statistically significant correlation between c-Met expression and tumor size, lymph node status, distant metastasis or survival rates. However, a statistically significant negative correlation between c-Met expression and tumor stage was apparent (p=0.022). Hence, this study did not confirm the role of c-Met as a prognostic marker in patients with OSCC.