[Relationship between Tiam-1 expression and the biological behaviors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between the protein expression of T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis gene 1 (Tiam-1) and the biological behaviors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODS

Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expressions of Tiam-1 protein in 60 specimens of NPC tissue, 20 specimens of chronic nasopharyngitis (CN) tissue, and 6 tumor tissues from nude mice inoculated with metastatic human NPC cells.

RESULTS

The positivity rate and average score for Tiam-1 expression were significantly higher in NPC tissues than in CN tissue (63.33% vs 36.67%, 2.9167 +/- 1.3057 vs 0.7000 +/- 0.9234; chi(2)=20.429, P=0.001; t=7.0162, P=0.0000, respectively). No difference was found in Tiam-1 expression among NPC patients in different T stages (F=2.36, P=0.0811), while the expression differed significantly between the patients with lymph node metastasis and those without metastasis, and also between patients with organ metastasis and those without (P=0.0001). High Tiam-1 expressions were found in the tumor tissues in nude mice inoculated with metastatic NPC cells.

CONCLUSION

Tiam-1 expression is closely associated with the invasiveness and metastasis of NPC, indicating that Tiam-1 is an important factor that promotes the invasion and metastasis of NPC.