Elevated LSD1 and SNAIL Expression Indicate Poor Prognosis in Hypopharynx Carcinoma

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) represent a significant global cancer burden with poor patient outcomes.
• Hypopharyngeal HNSCC specifically exhibits the worst prognosis among HNSCC subtypes.
• The histone demethylase LSD1 is implicated in cancer progression and is upregulated in various tumors, interacting with SNAIL.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the co-expression of LSD1 and SNAIL in a large HNSCC cohort.
• To determine the prognostic value of LSD1 and SNAIL in HNSCC, including specific analysis of sub-sites.
• To establish a correlation between LSD1 and SNAIL expression in HNSCC patient samples.

Main Methods:

• Utilized immunohistochemical staining on a cohort of 339 clinically well-characterized HNSCC patients.
• Analyzed the expression levels of LSD1 and SNAIL.
• Correlated protein expression with clinical data, including tumor stage, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS).

Main Results:

• Elevated LSD1 expression correlated with advanced tumor stage and reduced PFS in hypopharyngeal HNSCC.
• SNAIL overexpression independently predicted worse OS and PFS in HNSCC, particularly in hypopharyngeal tumors.
• A significant positive correlation was observed between LSD1 and SNAIL expression in HNSCC patient samples.

Conclusions:

• LSD1 and SNAIL are independently associated with poor prognosis in HNSCC.
• The co-expression of LSD1 and SNAIL suggests their combined role in HNSCC progression.
• LSD1 and SNAIL serve as potential independent prognostic biomarkers for HNSCC, especially for hypopharyngeal tumors.