[Expression and significance of human Dachshund homolog 1 in tongue squamous cell carcinoma and tongue atypical hyperplasia].

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the expression and role of human Dachshund homolog1(DACH1)in the development and prognosis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma(TSCC).

Methods: The expression of DACH1 was detected immunohistochemistrically in 51 samples of paraffin-embedded TSCC, paired adjacent tissues and 25 samples of atypical hyperplasia tissues of the tongue. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16.0 software package.

Results: The results showed that 36 out of 51 TSCCs (70.6%) expressed lower levels of DACH1 compared with the paired adjacent tissues. Moreover, there was significant differences in expression of DACH1 between TSCC and paired adjacent tissues (P<0.05), and lower expression was associated with poor differentiation of tumors, advanced clinical stage and lymph node metastasis(P<0.05).In addition, the expression level of DACH1 in atypical hyperplasia tissues of tongue was also significantly lower than in tumors(P<0.05). Univariate survival analysis showed that the overall survival rate of patients with high expression of DACH1 was significantly higher than those with low expression of DACH1 (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The decreased expression of DACH1 may be related to occurrence, development and poor prognosis of TSCC. It may contribute to making diagnosis for precancerous lesions in the tongue, and provide a potential effective therapeutic target for TSCC.