Association between EGFR expression and clinical outcome of laryngeal HPV squamous cell carcinoma

Recent findings on the impact of ErbB receptors status on prognosis and therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer type, has often an aggressive course and is poorly responsive to current therapeutic approaches, so that 5-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with advanced disease is lower than 50%. The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) has emerged as an established oncogene in HNSCC. Indeed, although HNSCCs are a heterogeneous group of cancers which differ for histological, molecular and clinical features, EGFR is overexpressed or mutated in a percentage of cases up to about 90%. Moreover, aberrant expression of the other members of the ErbB receptor family, ErbB2, ErbB3 and ErbB4, has also been reported in variable proportions of HNSCCs. Therefore, an increased expression/activity of one or multiple ErbB receptors is found in the vast majority of patients with HNSCC. While aberrant ErbB signaling has long been known to play a critical role in tumor growth, angiogenesis, invasion, metastatization and resistance to therapy, more recent evidence has revealed its impact on other features of cancer cells' biology, such as the ability to evade antitumor immunity. In this paper we will review recent findings on how ErbB receptors expression and activity, including that associated with non-canonical signaling mechanisms, impacts on prognosis and therapy of HNSCC.

Human Papillomavirus Oncoproteins Confer Sensitivity to Cisplatin by Interfering with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Nuclear Trafficking Related to More Favorable Clinical Survival Outcomes in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Simple Summary

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. Identifying prognostic factors is crucial to improve the survival time of those with lung cancer. Our previous studies have reported that human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression are associated with a better survival prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma. The purpose of this study was to detect the molecular evidence of HPV oncoproteins interfering with EGFR nuclear trafficking related to better prognosis in lung cancer. Based on the study results for a better response to cisplatin in transfected HPV 16E5/16E6/16E7 H292 xenograft animal models, as well as better survival in lung adenocarcinoma patients with either 16E6/18E6 or EGFR expression, we suggest that clinicians should adjust the treatment protocol according to HPV 16E6/18E6 expression and EGFR expression to increase the overall survival time in lung cancer.

Abstract

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression have been reported to be associated with more favorable survival outcomes in lung adenocarcinoma patients. In this study, we utilized transfected HPV 16E5/16E6/16E7 H292 cells to investigate the mechanism of HPV oncoproteins interfering with EGFR nuclear trafficking related to a better response to cisplatin. Furthermore, we correlated HPV 16E6/18E6 expression and differentially localized EGFR expression with the clinical association and survival impact in lung adenocarcinoma patients. Our results found significantly higher phosphorylated nuclear EGFR expression upon epidermal growth factor stimulus and better responses to cisplatin in transfected HPV 16E5/16E6/16E7 NCI-H292 cells and xenograft animal models. Our data were compatible with clinical results of a high correlation of HPV 16E6/18E6 and EGFR expression in non-small cell lung cancer tissues and the synergistic effects of both with the best survival prognosis in a lung adenocarcinoma cohort, especially in patients with older age, no brain metastasis, smoking history, and wild-type EGFR status. Cumulatively, our study supports HPV 16E5/16E6/16E7 oncoproteins interfering with EGFR nuclear trafficking, resulting in increased sensitivity to cisplatin. HPV 16E6/18E6 and EGFR expression serve as good prognostic factors in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Prediction of the mechanism of miRNAs in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma based on the miRNA-mRNA regulatory network

In this study, a bioinformatics analysis is conducted to screen differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Based on this information, we explored the possible roles of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of LSCC. The RNA-Seq data from 79 laryngeal cancer samples in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were sorted. Differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs in LSCC are screened using the PERL programming language, and it was analysed by Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The miRNA-mRNA regulatory network of LSCC is constructed using Cytoscape software. Then, quantitative real-time PCR (QRT- PCR), Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) and flow cytometry analysis we are used to further validate key miRNAs. We identified 99 differentially expressed miRNAs and 2,758 differentially expressed mRNAs in LSCC tissues from the GEO database. Four more important miRNAs displaying a high degree of connectivity are selected, these results suggest that they play an important role in the pathogenesis of LSCC. As shown in the present study, we identified specific miRNA-mRNA networks associated with the occurrence and development of LSCC through bioinformatics analysis. We found a miRNA molecule closely related to LSCC based on miRNA-mRNA network: miR-140-3p was down-regulated in LSCC. In addition, the potential antitumor effect of miR-140-3p in LSCC was verified in the experiment, and it was proved that overexpression of miR-140-3p could inhibit the proliferation of LSCC cells and promote cell apoptosis, suggesting that miR-140-3p may be a potential tumor marker in LSCC.

Nuclear EGFR Expression Is Associated With Poor Survival in Laryngeal Carcinoma

The membrane EGFR (mEGFR) protein overexpression in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is considered to cause increased EGFR activity which adds to tumorigenicity and therapy resistance. The mEGFR upon stimulation can translocate to the nucleus nuclear EGFR (nEGFR) where it has been associated with poor prognosis and worse survival in many cancers. The relevance of differentially located EGFR proteins in laryngeal lesions has not been studied enough and remains unclear. Aim of our study was to examine nEGFR and mEGFR protein expression as well as EGFR gene status and cell cycle proliferation markers in the laryngeal polyps, dysplasia, and SCC using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. There was significantly higher frequency of strong nEGFR between SCC, dysplasia, and polyps (P<0.0001), and strong mEGFR in the SCC and laryngeal dysplasia comparing to polyps (P<0.0001). Gene amplification was confirmed only in relatively small number of SCC but not in non-neoplastic lesions. In dysplasia the statistically significant positive correlations between nEGFR, and Ki-67 (P=0.029), p53 (P=0.001), and cyclin D1 (P=0.031) were found. nEGFR and mEGFR expression showed statistically significant inverse correlation in the SCC (P=0.004) as well as nEGFR and cyclin D1 (P=0.032). Univariate statistical analysis showed statistically significant correlation between strong nEGFR protein expression and worse overall survival in laryngeal SCC, alone or in coexpression with strong cyclin D1 and high Ki-67 (P=0.025, P=0.046, P=0.043, respectively). Our data show that nEGFR cellular localization might influence biology of the laryngeal carcinogenesis and is indicator of poor survival.

Biomarkers of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a review

Laryngeal carcinoma is the second common malignancy of the upper aerodigestive tract after lung cancer; in most cases is a squamous cell carcinoma, whose risk factors include tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. Despite therapeutic progress, the five-year overall survival rate for this malignancy has remained nearly 50% and many patients already present metastasis at the time of diagnosis. To date, there are no tools that predict the evolution of laryngeal carcinoma: in this light, during the last years, many studies were planned with the aim to investigate the role played by different biomarkers expressed by larynx cancer, which can help make an early diagnosis, predict disease evolution and direct therapeutic choice. This review aims to summarize these markers and correlating them with disease evolution.