Abstract 448P
Background
Oral Squamous cell carcinoma is a malignancy that poses life threatening outcomes. The rate of survival decreases as the stage of the cancer advances. Tumor growth is linked with angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is a key player in stimulating neo-angiogenesis both structurally and functionally. This study aims to identify the genetic variations in VEGF-A gene and evaluate its clinical value and prognostic significance.
Methods
The present study was conducted at Khyber Medical University Peshawar, Pakistan for determining the prognostic role of VEGF-A by correlating the underlying genetic mutations in VEGF-A with immunohistochemistry (IHC) scores in tissue biopsies of oral squamous cell carcinoma. A total of 50 tissue samples were recruited from various hospitals of Pakistan. Demographic, clinical and diagnostic details of the recruited patients were recorded. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed and whole exome sequencing (WES) was done for 20 cases to determine the mutational landscape of VEGF-A. Patients were followed for their survival analysis, observations were recorded and results were analyzed.
Results
It has been found that the high expression of VEGF-A is linked with poor survival outcomes therefore it is a significant prognostic biomarker for predicting survival in OSCC patients. The WES analysis detected VEGF-A gene mutations in 45% of the oral cancer cases out of which 22% (2/9) were non-synonymous and 77.7% (7/9) were synonymous mutations. Interestingly, patients harboring VEGF-A mutations predominantly exhibited low VEGF-A IHC scores, which were associated with better survival outcomes. This suggests that the mutations identified may lead to a reduced or dysfunctional VEGF-A protein expression, thus impairing angiogenesis.
Conclusions
The higher the IHC expression of VEGF-A in tissue, the more aggressively the tumor behaves leading to higher rates of metastasis, and reduced survival rates. The analysis of WES provides insights into the mutational landscape of the VEGF-A gene in OSCC patients. Therefore, it may play significant role in predicting survival and prognosis in OSCC patients.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Institute of Pathology and Diagnostic Medicine, Khyber Medical University.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
The author has declared no conflicts of interest.