Galectin-8 Expression in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

OBJECTIVES: Despite the ongoing development of treatment protocols for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), the patients suffering with this malady have shown only a modestly improved outcome. This poor outcome has been attributed to the lack of therapy that's individualized to the tumor's biological properties. Various studies have showed that galectin-8 is widely expressed in tumor tissues as well as in normal tissues, and the level of the galectin-8 expression may correlate with the malignancy of human squamous cell carcinoma. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the expression of galectin-8 and to investigate its correlations with the primary stage, the nodal involvement, the clinical stage and the histologic grade of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. METHODS: The paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from 77 patients who were diagnosed as LSCC between 1993 and 2007 were immunohistochemically stained for galectin-8. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis showed that a strong positive expression of galectin-8 was correlated with the T-stages, the nodal stages and the clinical stages. However, the histopathologic grades were not correlated with the galectin-8 expression in LSCC. CONCLUSION: The expression of galectin-8 protein can be used as a prognostic factor for patients with LSCC.