OncoTargets and Therapy (Mar 2021)
High VCAM-1 Predicts Poor Prognosis and is Associated with Chemotherapy Resistance in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Abstract
Yu Huang,1,* Hongbin Miao,2,* Chenxi Xia,1,* Huajun Feng,1 Shengen Xu,1 Zhuoping Liang,1 Yuanyuan Wang,1 Chong Zhao,1 Gang Qin,1 Xiaoyi Ou,1 Feipeng Zhao1 1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Bishan District, Chongqing Medical University, Bishan, 402760, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiaoyi Ou; Feipeng ZhaoDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping Street, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-830-3165641Fax +86-830-2392753Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor endemic in southern China and Southeast Asia with a poor prognosis. Vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM-1) is highly expressed in NPC; however, it is unclear whether VCAM-1 is correlated with chemotherapy resistance and prognosis in NPC.Patients and Methods: To further explore the role of VCAM-1 in chemotherapy resistance and prognosis in NPC, we examined the expression of VCAM-1, the sensitivity of chemotherapy drugs, and clinical follow-up data from 73 patients with NPC. Then, the results of VCAM-1 expression were analyzed in response to chemotherapy drugs, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).Results: The expression of VCAM-1 protein in NPC was significantly higher than that in chronic inflammatory tissue. No significant differences in the expression of VCAM-1 among gender, age, pathologic classification, tumor classification, lymph node status, metastasis status, and overall clinical stage were found. The periods of PFS and OS in patients with high VCAM-1 expression were significantly shorter than those in patients with low VCAM-1 expression. The sensitivity rates of NPC to eight chemotherapy drugs were different; carboplatin and docetaxel showed the highest chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance rates, respectively. The resistance rates to paclitaxel were different between the patients with high VCAM-1 expression and those with low VCAM-1 expression.Conclusion: Our data indicated that VCAM-1 was highly expressed in NPC. Patients with high VCAM-1 expression were more prone to shorter periods of PFS and OS. VCAM-1 could be a prognostic marker of NPC patients. The detection of VCAM-1 expression in NPC may be valuable for chemotherapy drug evaluation and management of patients with NPC in the clinic.Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, VCAM-1, prognosis, chemotherapy resistance
