AHNAK and inflammatory markers predict poor survival in laryngeal carcinoma.

AHNAK/Desmoyokin is a giant protein which has been recently linked
to reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, cellular migration and
invasion. Here, we investigated the role of AHNAK in the
pathophysiology of larynx carcinoma-one of the major subtypes of
head and neck cancer. To this end, we analysed AHNAK expression in
tumor tissues from 83 larynx carcinoma patients in relation to
overall survival. We found that tumoral AHNAK overexpression
significantly associated with poor survival of these patients both
in univariate and multivariate analysis. In further studies, we
combined the prognostic value of AHNAK with selected markers of
inflammation, such as macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF)
and tumor-infiltrating neutrophils (CD66b-positive cells). Both MIF
and neutrophils have been linked to enhanced tumoral migration and
poor clinical outcome in patients with orohypopharynx
carcinoma-another major subtype of head and neck cancer.
Interestingly, we found that synchronous high levels of AHNAK and
MIF or AHNAK and neutrophils, respectively, were stronger
predictors of poor survival than AHNAK alone. Synchronous high
levels of all three markers were the strongest predictors of poor
survival in our patient cohort. Taken together, our findings
propose novel strategies for an accurate prognosis in larynx
carcinoma and suggest potential mechanisms of inflammation-mediated
tumor progression.