Increased Expression of p-GSK3beta Predicts Poor Survival in T -III/IV Stage OSCC Patients.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3-beta) acts either as a tumor suppressor or an oncogene in various human cancers. The present study aimed to investigate the expression and activity of p-GSK3-beta (Ser9) in oral cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the levels of p-GSK3beta in 152 oral cancer tissues by immunohistochemistry, and explored their prognostic impact. RESULTS: To investigate the role of p-GSK3beta (Ser9) in OSCC progression, we first analyzed the expression levels of protein p-GSK3beta in normal and oral cancer tissues using immunohistochemical staining. p-GSK3beta immunostaining was detected in 32 of 152 (21.1%) oral cancer specimens. High p-GSK3beta expression was significantly associated with T (III/IV) stage. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that high levels of p-GSK3beta were correlated with poor survival (p=0.001) in T stage (III/IV) OSCC patients. Multivariate analyses indicated that TN stage, AJCC tumor stage, tumor differentiation status and clinical therapy, but not p-GSK3beta levels, were independent prognostic factors. Significant mortality risk was found in T stage (III/IV) oral cancer patients with high levels of p-GSK3beta (p=0.0006). CONCLUSION: GSK3beta inactivation is a key event in oral cancer patients and targeting GSK3beta might be valuable in treating oral cancer patients.