Prognostic value of type XXII and XXIV collagen mRNA expression in head and neck cancer patients

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the sixth most common type of cancer, affecting ~500,000 individuals worldwide annually. Collagen is the major constituent of the extracellular matrix component in tumors and plays a crucial role in tumor development. The aim of this study was to determine the mRNA expression of type XXI, XXII, XXIII and XXIV α1 collagen (<i>COL21A1</i>, <i>COL22A1</i>, <i>COL23A1</i> and <i>COL24A1</i>, respectively) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and investigate its correlation with disease progression. This study investigated the mRNA expression levels of <i>COL21A1</i>, <i>COL22A1</i>, <i>COL23A1</i> and <i>COL24A1</i> in 70 HNSCC primary samples and 44 matched pairs of tumor and adjacent normal mucosal tissues using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Expression data were compared to the clinicopathological variables in order to determine the correlation between expression and disease progression. Our results demonstrated that the mRNA levels of <i>COL22A1</i> and <i>COL24A1</i> were significantly higher in HNSCC tissues compared to those in the corresponding normal tissues from the same individuals (n=44; P<0.001 and P=0.019, respectively). The <i>COL22A1</i> mRNA levels were found to be significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.018) and pathological stage (P=0.024), whereas the <i>COL24A1</i> mRNA levels were significantly associated with tumor size (P=0.045). The high expression levels of <i>COL22A1</i> and <i>COL24A1</i> mRNA were statistically correlated with a decrease in disease-free survival (DFS) (log-rank test, P<0.001). The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that high expression levels of the <i>COL22A1</i> and <i>COL24A1</i> gene pair were associated with a high odds ratio for recurrence of 14.62 (95% confidence interval: 2.77-77.26; P=0.002). Therefore, the upregulation of <i>COL22A1</i> and <i>COL24A1</i> mRNA may play a critical role in the progression of HNSCC and provide useful information as a prognostic predictor for HNSCC patients.