TY - JOUR

T1 - Potential of uPAR, αvβ6 Integrin, and Tissue Factor as Targets for Molecular Imaging of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

T2 - Evaluation of Nine Targets in Primary Tumors and Metastases by Immunohistochemistry

AU - Lawaetz, Mads

AU - Christensen, Anders

AU - Juhl, Karina

AU - Karnov, Kirstine

AU - Lelkaitis, Giedrius

AU - Kanstrup Fiehn, Anne Marie

AU - Kjaer, Andreas

AU - von Buchwald, Christian

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - No clinically approved tumor-specific imaging agents for head and neck cancer are currently available. The identification of biomarkers with a high and homogenous expression in tumor tissue and minimal expression in normal tissue is essential for the development of new molecular imaging targets in head and neck cancer. We investigated the expression of nine imaging targets in both primary tumor and matched metastatic tissue of 41 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) to assess their potential as targets for molecular imaging. The intensity, proportion, and homogeneity in the tumor and the reaction in neighboring non-cancerous tissue was scored. The intensity and proportion were multiplied to obtain a total immunohistochemical (IHC) score ranging from 0–12. The mean intensity in the tumor tissue and normal epithelium were compared. The expression rate was high for the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) (97%), integrin αvβ6 (97%), and tissue factor (86%) with a median total immunostaining score (interquartile range) for primary tumors of 6 (6–9), 12 (12–12), and 6 (2.5–7.5), respectively. For the uPAR and tissue factor, the mean staining intensity score was significantly higher in tumors compared to normal epithelium. The uPAR, integrin αvβ6, and tissue factor are promising imaging targets for OSCC primary tumors, lymph node metastases, and recurrences.

AB - No clinically approved tumor-specific imaging agents for head and neck cancer are currently available. The identification of biomarkers with a high and homogenous expression in tumor tissue and minimal expression in normal tissue is essential for the development of new molecular imaging targets in head and neck cancer. We investigated the expression of nine imaging targets in both primary tumor and matched metastatic tissue of 41 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) to assess their potential as targets for molecular imaging. The intensity, proportion, and homogeneity in the tumor and the reaction in neighboring non-cancerous tissue was scored. The intensity and proportion were multiplied to obtain a total immunohistochemical (IHC) score ranging from 0–12. The mean intensity in the tumor tissue and normal epithelium were compared. The expression rate was high for the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) (97%), integrin αvβ6 (97%), and tissue factor (86%) with a median total immunostaining score (interquartile range) for primary tumors of 6 (6–9), 12 (12–12), and 6 (2.5–7.5), respectively. For the uPAR and tissue factor, the mean staining intensity score was significantly higher in tumors compared to normal epithelium. The uPAR, integrin αvβ6, and tissue factor are promising imaging targets for OSCC primary tumors, lymph node metastases, and recurrences.

KW - immunohistochemistry

KW - integrin αvβ6

KW - lymph node metastases

KW - molecular imaging

KW - oral squamous cell carcinoma

KW - tissue factor

KW - urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148997834&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/ijms24043853

DO - 10.3390/ijms24043853

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36835265

AN - SCOPUS:85148997834

VL - 24

JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online)

JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online)

SN - 1661-6596

IS - 4

M1 - 3853

ER -