Expression and significance of Beclin1 and LC3 in parotid pleomorphic adenoma and carcinoma in pleomorphic adenoma

Objective: To investigate the expression of microtubule-associated protein light 1 chain 3(LC3) and Beclin1 in parotid tumors.Methods: The expression of Beclin1 and LC3 was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 20 cases of normal parotid gland(NPG),37 cases of parotid pleomorphic adenoma(PPA) and 41 cases of carcinoma in pleomorphic adenoma(CPA).The correlations of Beclin1 and LC3 expression to the clinicopathologic characteristics of CPA were analyzed.Results: The positive rates of Beclin1 in NPG,PPA and CPA were 100%,92% and 63% respectively,and those of LC3 were 100%,86% and 56% respectively.In CPA,the expression of Beclin1 was associated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stage(P0.05),the invasive of the tumor and lymph node metastasis was associated with the LC3 expression(P0.05).Conclusion: The expressions of LC3 and Beclin1 are down-regulated in PPA and CPA.The changes of autophagic capacity may be related to the development of parotid gland tumors.