Differential impact of IL-10 expression on survival and relapse between HPV16-positive and -negative oral squamous cell carcinomas

• Published in: PloS one 2012-10, Vol.7 (10), p.e47541-e47541
• Main Authors: Chuang, Chun-Yi, Sung, Wen-Wei, Wang, Lee, Lin, Wea-Long, Yeh, Kun-Tu, Su, Mao-Chang, Hsin, Chun-Han, Lee, Shiann-Yann, Wu, Buor-Chang, Cheng, Ya-Wen, Lee, Huei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Alcohol; Analysis; B cells; Biology; Cancer; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - genetics; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - metabolism; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - virology; Cell survival; Cervical cancer; Cytokines; Development and progression; Female; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Health risks; Hospitals; Human papillomavirus; Human papillomavirus 16 - genetics; Human papillomavirus 16 - isolation & purification; Human papillomavirus 16 - pathogenicity; Human papillomavirus 18 - genetics; Human papillomavirus 18 - isolation & purification; Human papillomavirus 18 - pathogenicity; Humans; Infection; Infections; Interleukin 10; Interleukin-10 - genetics; Interleukin-10 - metabolism; Interleukins; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Lung cancer; Male; Malignancy; Medical research; Medicine; Middle Aged; Mouth Neoplasms - genetics; Mouth Neoplasms - metabolism; Mouth Neoplasms - pathology; Mouth Neoplasms - virology; Oral cancer; Oral carcinoma; Oral squamous cell carcinoma; Oropharyngeal cancer; Otolaryngology; Papillomavirus infections; Pathology; Patients; Polymerase chain reaction; Prognosis; Proportional Hazards Models; Public health; Recurrence; Regression analysis; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; RNA; Smokers; Smoking; Squamous cell carcinoma; Survival; Survival Rate; Toxicology; Tumors; Viral infections; Womens health
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047541

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a risk factor in a subset of oropharyngeal cancer; however, the contribution of HPV in the malignancy of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) is not fully understood in Taiwanese. Herein, 61 patients with no risk factors and 117 patients with one or more risk factors were enrolled in this study. HPV16/18 infection rate in non-smokers, non-drinkers and non-betel quid chewers was higher than their counterparts. The development of HPV-infected cancer has been shown to be associated with interleukin-10 (IL-10) expression. To this end, IL-10 mRNA expression in OSCC tumors was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. Data showed that HPV-positive patients had higher IL-10 mRNA levels than in HPV-negative patients. Kaplan-Meier and Cox-regression analysis indicated that the prognostic significance of IL-10 mRNA on overall survival and relapse free survival was only observed in HPV-positive OSCC, but not in HPV-negative OSCC. Mechanistically, the elevation of IL-10 by E6 was responsible for increased colony formation and migration capability in OSCC cells. Therefore, we suggest that IL-10 induced by E6 promotes cell growth and migration capability and consequent poor survival and relapse in HPV-positive OSCC.