SOBLS

Laryngeal cancer is a malignant disease characterized by a high mortality rate as a result of delayed diagnosis in the majority of cases and insufficient stratification due to the notable biological heterogeneity of these tumors. Until now, no suitable molecular markers have been established in the clinical management of this neoplasia. An array of reports has underscored the clinical utility of kallikrein multigene family in miscellaneous cancer types. One of its newest members, human kallikrein 11 (KLK11) , has been shown to be differentially expressed in prostate, ovaries and lung carcinomas, serving as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of these neoplasms.

The aim of this project was the quantitative expression analysis of KLK11 in laryngeal tumors and the investigation of its possible implementation in clinical practice as a diagnostic or predictive marker for this particular malignancy.

For this reason, total RNA was isolated from 163 laryngeal tissue specimens from 105 patients with larynx cancer, surgically treated at Hippokration Hospital of Athens. Following cDNA synthesis via reverse transcription reaction, quantification of KLK11 mRNA expression was performed using a SYBR® Green I based real-time PCR methodology of unparalleled specificity and sensitivity. GAPDH was used as a reference gene, while the comparative Ct method (2-ΔΔCt) was applied for the interpretation of the relative changes of KLK11 mRNA levels.

KLK11 expression was found to be significantly lower in laryngeal cancerous samples compared with the non-cancerous ones, a finding that could assist in the reinforcement of the diagnosis. Moreover, a statistically significant relationship was revealed between the gene expression and the TNM stage of the disease. Ultimately, the survival analysis showed that patients with KLK11-positive tumors exhibited approximately 4 times greater probability of survival, indicating that the expression of KLK11 may be regarded as an independent favorable prognostic factor for laryngeal cancer.

Patsis Et Al Poster Isk2011
This research study was conducted by:

Christos Patsis 1, Aris Yiotakis 2, Ioannis Yiotakis 2 and Andreas Scorilas 1

1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis 15701 Athens. E-mail: ascorilas@biol.uoa.gr
2 Department of Otolaryngology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School, University of Athens, 15701 Athens, Greece.