β-Arrestin-1 expression and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in laryngeal carcinoma:

Aim:The novel primary end-point of the present study was to ascertain β-arrestin-1 expression in a cohort of consecutive patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) with information available on their cigarette-smoking habits. A secondary end-point was to conduct a preliminary clinical and pathological investigation into the possible role of β-arrestin-1 in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), identified by testing for E-cadherin, Zeb1, and Zeb2 expression, in the setting of LSCC.Methods:The expression of β-arrestin-1, E-cadherin, zeb1, and zeb2 was ascertained in 20 consecutive LSCCs.Results:Statistical analysis showed no significant associations between β-arrestin-1 and EMT (based on the expression of E-cadherin, Zeb1, and Zeb2). The combined effect of nicotine and β-arrestin-1 was significantly associated with a shorter disease-free survival (P=0.01) in our series of LSCC. This latter result was also confirmed in an independent, publicly available LSCC cohort (P=0.047).Conclusions...