Abstract

Objective: Identifying markers that influence oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) prognosis is a fundamental strategy to improve the overall survival of patients. Markers such as eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1δ (EEF1D), fascin, N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP), and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been noticed in OSCCs and their levels are closely related to the prognosis of tumors. Our aim was to confirm the role of those markers in OSCC prognosis.

Study Design: Immunohistochemistry was performed in 90 OSCC specimens. The associations between clinicopathologic features and expression of markers were assessed by χ2 test. Kaplan-Meier curves and univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used for survival analysis. Markers were analyzed individually and in combination.

Results: High expression of EEF1D (P = 0.017) and PINP (P = 0.02) and abundant density of CAFs in tumor stroma (P = 0.005) predicted significantly poor survival in OSCC patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that all 3 parameters are individually independent prognostic factors of OSCC patients, and their combination improved the discrimination of patients at high risk for poor survival.

Conclusions: Our results suggested that the expression of EEF1D and PINP and the density of CAFs might influence the survival of patients with OSCC.