Clinicopathological Significance and Prognostic Value of the Caveolae Constitutive Proteins Dynamin-2 and Caveolin-1 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the clinicopathological significance of the expression of two caveolae component proteins, dynamin-2 (DNM2) and caveolin-1 (CAV1), in primary tumors of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining for DNM2 and CAV1 was performed on resected primary tumor specimens from 80 OSCC patients, and the individual expressions and combined expression status of these proteins were analyzed in relation to clinicopathological factors and prognosis. RESULTS: We observed that the DNM2 expression was significantly correlated with the OSCC T-classification and the stage, while CAV1 expression was significantly correlated with the mode of invasion and recurrence. Moreover, the combined DNM2/CAV1 expression status was significantly correlated with the T-classification, stage, cell differentiation, and recurrence. In terms of overall survival, the CAV1-positive patients had a significantly poorer prognosis compared to the CAV1-negative patients, and the patients who expressed neither DNM2 nor CAV1 had a significantly better prognosis than those expressing either or both proteins. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that in OSCC, the expression of DNM2 is involved in tumor growth and the expression of CAV1 is involved in tumor invasion, and DNM2 and/or CAV1 expression affects the progression and prognosis of OSCC. The expressions of DNM2 and CAV1 may therefore be useful markers for OSCC progression and prognosis.