Annexin A2, A7, and A11 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma*

Authors: SEMA HÜCÜMENOĞLU, BERRAK GÜMÜŞKAYA, MURAT ALPER, BÜLENT ÖCAL, ERDEM KARABULUT

Abstract: Aim: To investigate annexin A2 (ANXA2), annexin A7 (ANXA7), and annexin A11 (ANXA11) expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Although overexpression of ANXA2 has been reported in HNSCC, there are no studies on ANXA7 or ANXA11 in the same region. Materials and Methods: ANXA2, ANXA7, and ANXA11 were immunohistochemically studied in paraffin-embedded sections obtained from 43 patients with HNSCC. Results: ANXA2 and ANXA11 expression was more intense in the tumor areas in HNSCC (P = 0 for ANXA2, P = 0.05 for ANXA11). Both the tumors and normal mucosae showed membranous staining for ANXA7 and ANXA2, while there was mostly nuclear staining for ANXA11. Another important finding was that tumor differentiation decreased as ANXA2 expression intensity (P = 0.001) and staining score (P = 0) decreased. There was a significant relationship between ANXA7 expression and tumoral growth pattern (P = 0.001). Conclusions: This is the first study to show ANXA7 and ANXA11 expression in HNSCC. ANXA2 staining severity and score were related to the degree of tumor differentiation in HNSCC. The membranous staining pattern decreased with decreasing differentiation for ANXA7. There was a linear relationship between the expression of ANXA2 and ANXA7.

Keywords: Annexin A2, annexin A7, annexin A11, squamous cell carcinoma, head and neck neoplasms

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