Decreased expression of α-catenin in primary oral squamous cell carcinomas correlates with poor prognosis of patients

Abstract

We investigated the relationship between the expression pattrn of α-catenin using western blot analysis and prognosis in 78 patients with primary oral squamous cell carcinoma. We found that reduced expression of α-catenin occurred more frequently in the patients with clinical lymph node metastasis compared with non-metastasis. Moreover, reduced α-catenin expression closely related with shorter patient survival. Determination of α-catenin expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma is therefore expected to provide useful information with regard to prognosis.