Evaluating the Serum Levels of CD73 in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The expression of CD73 antigen is associated with different prognoses in different carcinomas. However, few studies have assessed the level of this marker in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as the most common malignancy of the head and neck region.

The aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of CD73 in patients with head and neck SCC to explain their association with clinicopathological parameters.

This cross-sectional study was done on 60 samples taken from patients with head and neck SCC. A total of 28 healthy individuals were enrolled as the control group. Using the sandwich ELISA method, the serum levels of CD73 were measured. The data were statistically analyzed using the independent t-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test.

The mean serum level of CD73 in the SCC patients (114.38 ng/ml, n=60) was almost similar to that of the healthy controls (137.22 ng/ml, n=28; p Value=0.098). The mean serum levels of CD73 were greater in patients with III/IV-stage tumors than in those with I/II-stage tumors (121.37±55.96 ng/ml, n=28 vs 108.27±39.44 ng/ml, n=32; p= 0.294). No correlation was found between the serum levels of CD73 and sex, age, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and other organ metastasis.

The results of the current study revealed no significant relationship between the serum levels of CD73 and the clinicopathological factors in patients with head and neck SCC. These results suggest that the serum levels of CD73 may not be a useful biomarker for the recognition of the clinical behavior of head and neck SCC. However, the actual role of CD73 in SCC remains unclear and requires further research.