Expression of SKA1 and MMP–9 in primary salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma: Correlation with tumor progression and patient prognosis

ABSTRACT

Conclusion The spindle and kinetochore-associated complex sub unit 1(SKA1) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) are highly expressed in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC), and SKA1 may be the novel, promising prognostic factor for clinical outcomes in head and neck adenoid cystic carcinoma patients. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the expression of SKA1 and MMP-9 in SACC tissues and the clinical significance. Methods SKA1 and MMP-9 expression in samples from 42 cases of SACC and 20 subjects with the normal tissue adjacent to carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemical analysis. Results The positive rate of SKA1 and MMP-9 staining was 78.6% and 66.7% in SACC, respectively, significantly higher than in normal salivary gland tissues (p < 0.001). Chi-square test showed that there was no significant correlation between SKA1 expression and MMP-9 expression in SACC tissues. However, SKA1 and MMP-9 expression was positively associated with advanced stage and solid histological pattern of SACC (p < 0.05). In addition, SKA1 and MMP-9 expression was positively associated with recurrence and perineural invasion, and survival time, respectively.

Keywords:

• Spindle and kinetochore-associated complex sub-unit 1
• matrix metalloproteinase-9
• SACC
• metastasis

Acknowledgements

This study is supported by Projects of the medical and health technology development program in Shandong province (No. 2013WS0085), the Foundation for Outstanding Young Scientist in Shandong Province (No. BS2014YY054), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China funded project (No. 81272958 and No. 81472530).

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.