Increased expression of cellular retinol-binding protein 1 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

To investigate the genomic alterations in larynx carcinomas (LaCa) tissues and its prognostics values in predicting survival. To analyse the aberrations in the genome of LaCa patients, we used array comparative genomic hybridization in 19 human laryngeal tumour samples. DNA samples were also subjected to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) sequences by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Copy number gain was confirmed by real-time PCR. The cellular retinol-binding protein 1 (CRBP-1) gene expression was also confirmed by immunohistochemistry assay on LaCa tissues. To identify prognostic feature, CRBP-1 gene gain was correlated to patient survival. The most common gains were detected for CRBP-1 and EGFR genes, while DNA lost in RAF-1 gene. Immunohistochemistry assay was revealed strong expression of CRBP1 protein in those cases with CRBP-1 gene gain. The CRBP-1 gene gain and its expression correlated significantly with survival (P = 0.003). Cox regression analysis indicated that CRBP-1 expression level was a factor of survival (P = 0.008). HPV sequences were detected in 42% of the samples, and did not show any relationship with specific gene alterations. Our data shows that CRBP-1 gene gain can be determined by immunohistochemistry on routinely processed tissue specimens, and could support as a potential novel marker for long-term survival in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.