Molecular diagnosis for occult oral cancer

我们通过RT-PCR检测细胞角蛋白20(CK20)mRNA检测口腔鳞癌患者外周血中循环癌细胞的存在。12例口腔鳞状细胞癌患者中有11例阳性。但血源性CK20基因与肿瘤转移的关系尚不明确。我们还用显微解剖-酶谱技术检测了人口腔鳞癌组织中的明胶酶。癌细胞巢中的明胶溶解活性明显高于正常牙龈上皮。转移癌癌细胞巢中活性MMP2活性显著高于非转移癌(p&lt；0.05)。转移性癌组织中HGF水平显著高于非转移性癌组织(p&lt；0.05)。此外，患者血清HGF水平显著高于健康志愿者(p&lt；0.05)。经初步治疗后，所有无瘤存活者的血清HGF水平均明显下降。所有口腔鳞癌均表达鳞癌抗原，但不表达CEA抗原。我们常规检测口腔鳞癌患者血清SCC和CEA水平作为肿瘤标志物。然而，我们的结果表明CEA-HOT可作为口腔鳞癌的肿瘤标志物。我们可以利用SCC mRNA的表达强度来更好地评估患者的血清SCC水平。我们还检测了5-FU靶酶TS和5-FU降解酶DPD的表达。DPD在肿瘤中的表达可作为口腔癌患者5-FU敏感性的标志物。

We examined the existence of circulating cancer cells in the peripheral blood of oral SCC patients by RT-PCR for cytokeratin 20 (CK20) mRNA. Eleven of 12 oral SCC patients showed positive results. However, there is no clear relationship of hematogenous CK20 mRNA for metastasis. We also examined the gelatinases in human oral SCC tissues by a microdissection-zymography. The gelatinolytic actiyities in cancer cell nests were much higher than those of normal gingival epithelium. The activities of active-MMP2 in cancer cell nests of metastatic cancers were significantly higher than those of non-metastatic cancers (p<0.05).We tested HGF levels in oral SCC tissues and the serum HGF levels in oral SCC patients. HGF levels in metastatic cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in non-metastatic cancer tissues (p<0.05). Furthermore, serum levels of HGF in the patients were significantly higher than those in healthy volunteers, (p<0.05). After initial treatment, all of the tumor-free survivors showed a marked decline in the serum HGF levels.We examined the mRNA expression of SCC tumor antigen and CEA tumor antigen in the- biopsy materials of oral SCC tissues. All of the oral SCC expressed the SCC antigen, but did not express the CEA antigen. We routinely measured serum SCC and CEA levels in oral SCC patients as tumor marker. However, our results indicated that CEA could- hot be a tumor marker for oral SCC. We can utilize the intensity of SCC mRNA expression to better evaluate the serum SCC level in the patients. We also tested the expression of TS and DPD which were 5-FU target enzyme and 5-FU degradation enzyme, respectively. The expression of DPD in the tumors can be a marker for 5-FU sensitivity of oral cancer patients.