What role do mucins have in the development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma? A systematic review

Abstract

Mucins are the dominant component in the protective mucus layer on mucosal surfaces including the larynx. Hence, they are part of the first line of defence against external stimuli including effect of smoking in the larynx. We asked whether existing published evidence supported the hypothesis that alteration in mucins expression/production is related to the laryngeal neoplastic process. The objective of this study is to review published evidence for mucins having an important role in normal laryngeal physiology and the development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We aimed to review all available literature on mucins in the larynx in order to develop hypotheses to be tested by future research. Thereby, new potential means of prevention and treatment of laryngeal cancer may be developed. A systematic search of all published literature was conducted. Systematic searches were done in the following databases: AMED, BNI, EMBASE, HMIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and HEALTH BUSINESS ELITE from their respective inception up to 11 February 2011. The following keywords were used in combination: mucin, larynx and squamous cell carcinoma. Altogether, 53 studies were identified; 43 studies were excluded following screening of the titles and abstracts. Full text manuscripts for ten studies were obtained for detailed evaluation and five studies were included in this review. No single study fulfilled all relevant criteria. Based on the included studies, we now know that MUC1 is definitely expressed in SCC larynx. However, there is no definitive evidence to suggest that MUC1 and MUC2 are aberrantly expressed in SCC larynx as compared to normal larynx. Further studies using the best available detection technique to detect MUC1, MUC2 and other possible relevant mucins i.e., MUC4 on adequate numbers of normal and SCC specimens are needed to confirm the findings of this review.

Exploiting poly(I:C) to induce cancer cell apoptosis

“… 65 Overexpression of MUC1 is associated with tumor progression and a poor prognosis in colon, breast, ovarian, lung, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. 66-70 MUC1 is expressed in airway epithelial cells, extinguishing host inflammatory responses that are initiated by pathogens and protecting tissue from injury. To perform these regulatory functions, MUC1 interacts directly with TLRs to hamper MyD88 or TRIF recruitment and halt the production of inflammatory factors that lie downstream of TLRs.…”

MicroRNA‑153 suppresses human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma migration and invasion by targeting the SNAI1 gene

“…The 5-year survival rate (72.5%) is low due to tumor metastasis being responsible for >90% of cancer-associated mortalities in the Southeast Asia region, as found between 2000 and 2006 ( 4 ). Currently the primary treatment of LSCC is surgery supplemented with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and biological therapy ( 5 , 6 ); however, to the best of our knowledge, no significant progress in the molecular biomarkers of the most common cervical lymph node metastasis of LSCC and targeted therapies has been proposed for patients with advanced LSCC ( 7 – 9 ). Therefore, investigating molecular biological markers, in order to analyze the invasion and migration of LSCC, is vital for improving the treatment of local invasion and cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with LSCC ( 10 , 11 ).…”

Sialylation regulates galectin-3/ligand interplay during mammary tumour progression - a case of targeted uncloaking

“…MUC1 is a large highly glycosylated membrane-associated protein expressed in the apical surface of normal epithelial cells (Kufe, 2009). Aberrant expression of MUC1 has been associated to poor prognosis in several types of cancer (Reis et al, 1998;Sipaul et al, 2011), including canine mammary cancer and human breast cancer (de Oliveira et al, 2009;Kufe, 2009). An abnormal under-glycosylated form of MUC1 is overexpressed in scattered distribution throughout the membrane of cancer cells (Kufe, 2009).…”