Significant association of SRC protein expression with the progression, recurrence, and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Src protein overexpression correlates with progression and prognosis of a variety of human cancers. METHODS: This study used immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of Src protein in 93 specimens of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). RESULTS: We found a significant association of high expression of Src protein (labeling indices >50%) with larger tumor size (p = .017), positive lymph node metastasis (p = .030), more advanced clinical stages (p = .007), and recurrence (p < .001) of OSCC. High expression of Src protein was identified as an independent unfavorable prognosis factor by multivariate Cox regression analysis. The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that patients with OSCC with high expression of Src protein had a significantly poorer cumulative survival than those with low expression of Src protein (log-rank test, p = .00267). CONCLUSION: The expression of Src protein is significantly associated with the progression, recurrence, and prognosis of OSCCs in Taiwan.