Recent studies revealed that Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway plays an important role in initiation and tumor progression in various malignancies, however, its role in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of SHH expression in patients with OSCC in relation to p53 protein expression and HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) presence. SHH, p53, HPV expression was analyzed in surgical specimens from 70 patients with primary OSCC by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and correlated with clinicopathological parameters. The presence of SHH, p53, HPV was found in 51/70 (72.9%), 32/70 (45.7%), 11/70 (15.7%) cases, respectively. No correlation between SHH, p53 overexpression, and HPV presence was found. SHH expression was associated with tumor stage (p = 0.026). P53 immunoreactivity correlated with tumor grade (p = 0.040). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, SHH expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival (p = 0.005). Multivariate cox regression analysis showed that SHH was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (HR = 2.93; 95% CI = 1.40-6.13; p = 0.004). Our findings revealed that the SHH signaling pathway contributes to the poor survival of patients with OSCC and should be considered as a new prognostic biomarker in patients with OSCC. Inhibition of the SHH pathway may be used as a new potential target in cancer therapy.

中文翻译：

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Sonic Hedgehog 是口腔鳞状细胞癌患者的新型预后生物标志物。

最近的研究表明，Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) 信号通路在各种恶性肿瘤的起始和肿瘤进展中起重要作用，但其在口腔鳞状细胞癌 (OSCC) 中的作用仍不清楚。本研究的目的是调查 SHH 表达在 OSCC 患者中与 p53 蛋白表达和 HPV（人类乳头瘤病毒）存在相关的预后意义。通过免疫组织化学 (IHC) 分析了来自 70 名原发性 OSCC 患者的手术标本中的 SHH、p53、HPV 表达，并与临床病理参数相关联。分别在 51/70 (72.9%)、32/70 (45.7%)、11/70 (15.7%) 病例中发现 SHH、p53、HPV 的存在。未发现 SHH、p53 过表达和 HPV 存在之间的相关性。SHH 表达与肿瘤分期相关（p = 0.026）。P53 免疫反应性与肿瘤等级相关（p = 0.040）。通过 Kaplan-Meier 分析，SHH 表达与较短的总生存期显着相关（p = 0.005）。多变量 cox 回归分析显示 SHH 是总生存期的独立预后因素（HR = 2.93；95% CI = 1.40-6.13；p = 0.004）。我们的研究结果表明，SHH 信号通路导致 OSCC 患者的生存期较差，应被视为 OSCC 患者的新预后生物标志物。抑制 SHH 通路可用作癌症治疗的新潜在靶点。多变量 cox 回归分析显示 SHH 是总生存期的独立预后因素（HR = 2.93；95% CI = 1.40-6.13；p = 0.004）。我们的研究结果表明，SHH 信号通路导致 OSCC 患者的生存期较差，应被视为 OSCC 患者的新预后生物标志物。抑制 SHH 通路可用作癌症治疗的新潜在靶点。多变量 cox 回归分析显示 SHH 是总生存期的独立预后因素（HR = 2.93；95% CI = 1.40-6.13；p = 0.004）。我们的研究结果表明，SHH 信号通路导致 OSCC 患者的生存期较差，应被视为 OSCC 患者的新预后生物标志物。抑制 SHH 通路可用作癌症治疗的新潜在靶点。