Catenin expression in T1/2 carcinomas of the floor of the mouth

Reduction of the expression of catenin is a crucial step in the pathogenesis, progression and prognosis of many epithelial cancers including squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Catenin expression in oral carcinomas was evaluated in relation to clinico-pathological features in order to determine its value as a prognostic marker. Eighty-five patients with histologically proven T1/2 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral floor who underwent surgical treatment were eligible for the study. A tissue microarray consisting of multiple representative tissue cores of each carcinoma was composed. The expression levels of α, β and γ-catenins were determined immunohistologically. Correlation between clinical features and the expression of catenin proteins was evaluated statistically using Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests and χ2-tests. Loss of α-catenin expression in carcinoma of the floor of the mouth correlated significantly with poor prognosis (P = 0.05). Conversely, significantly reduced rates of lymph-node metastases were observed in α- and β-catenin-positive T1 and T2 SCCs. Loss of γ-catenin expression indicated a reduced survival rate in nodal-negative tumours (P = 0.02). Catenin expression in carcinomas of the floor of the mouth seems to be a predictive parameter in the prognosis of T1 and T2 SSCs.