Expression and clinical significance of SOX3 and SOX9 in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression levels and clinical significance of SOX3 and SOX9 in the oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC).

Methods The expression levels of SOX3 and SOX9 protein in 60 cases of OSCC tissue and adjacent normal tissue were detected using immunohistochemistry method.The relationship between the expression levels SOX3 and SOX9, and clinicopathologic features were analyzed.

Results The positive rates of SOX3 and SOX9 in OSCC tissue were significantly higher than those in paracancerous normal tissue(P < 0.01).The results of univariate analysis showed that the differences of the expression levels of SOX3 and SOX9 protein in patients with different TNM stages and lymph node metastasis were statistically significant(P < 0.05 to P < 0.01), while there was no statistical significance in the protein expression levels of SOX3 and SOX9 in patients with different gender, age and degree of tumor differentiation(P>0.05).The results of logistic multifactor regression analysis showed that the TNM stage and lymph node metastasis were the independent influencing factors of SOX3 and SOX9 expression(P < 0.01).The results of correlation analysis showed that the expression of SOX3 was positively correlated with expression level of SOX9 protein in OSCC tissue(r=0.398, P < 0.01).

Conclusions The SOX3 and SOX9 may be involved in the occurrence and development of oral squamous cell carcinoma, and promote the invasion and metastasis of tumor cells.