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Galectin 7 (p53-Induced Gene 1): A New Prognostic Predictor of Recurrence and Survival in Stage IV Hypopharyngeal Cancer

¹ Laboratory of Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons-Hainaut, Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, Pentagone 1B, B-7000 Mons, Belgium
² Laboratory of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons-Hainaut, Avenue du Champ de Mars 6, Pentagone 1B, B-7000 Mons, Belgium
³ Laboratory of Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacy, Free University of Brussels, Campus Plaine CP 205/1, Boulevard du Triomphe, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
⁴ Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Hôpital Claude Huriez –Centre Hospitalier Regional Universitaire, F-59037, Lille, France
⁵ Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Veterinärstr. 13, D-80539 Munich, Germany
⁶ Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Hôpital Claude Huriez –Centre Hospitalier Regional Universitaire, F-59037, Lille, France

Correspondence: Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Robert Kiss, PhD; E-mail: rkiss{at}ulb.ac.be.

Background: Eighty percent of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients have advanced stages (III and IV) of the disease, and biological markers are required to predict high-risk head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients in need of highly aggressive treatments after surgery to improve the survival rate. We analyzed the potential prognostic value of galectin 7 in a series of 81 stage IV hypopharyngeal SCCs because galectin 7 is an emerging marker involved in the epidermal development of pluristratified epithelia and in epidermal cell migration.

Methods: The immunohistochemical expression of galectin 7 was determined on a series of 81 stage IV hypopharyngeal SCCs and was compared with that of galectins 1 and 3.

Results: High levels of galectin 7 expression were associated with rapid recurrence rates and dismal prognoses in these 81 stage IV hypopharyngeal SCCs, a feature not observed with galectin 3 and one observed weakly, if at all, with galectin 1.

Conclusions: These data suggest that the immunohistochemical determination of galectin 7 expression in the case of high-risk hypopharyngeal cancers is a meaningful tool to identify patients who should benefit from aggressive postsurgical adjuvant therapy after surgery, including not only radiotherapy, but also chemotherapy.

Key Words: Galectins 1, 3, and 7 • Hypopharyngeal cancer • Prognosis • Recurrence • Immunohistochemistry

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