Serum Level of Galectin-3 in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Andisheh Tadbir, Azadeh; Fattahi, Mohmmad Javad; Khademi, Bijan; Pourshahidi, Sara; Ebrahimi, Hooman; Sardari, Yasaman; Fattah, Zahra

Serum Level of Galectin-3 in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

Azadeh Andisheh Tadbir ¹

Mohmmad Javad Fattahi ²

Bijan Khademi ³

Sara Pourshahidi ⁴

Hooman Ebrahimi ⁴

Yasaman Sardari ¹

Zahra Fattah ⁵

¹ Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

² Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

³ Department of Otolaryngology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁴ Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences,Shiraz, Iran

⁵ School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Galectin-3, a member of the family of β-galactoside-binding animal lectins, has been implicated in tumor invasion and metastasis.Materials and Methods: Using an ELISAkit, we assessed the circulating levels of galectin-3 in sera from 40 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients and from 43 healthy controls.Results: Serum galectin-3 levels in OSCC patients were significantly higher (5.1±2.5 ng/ml) when compared with healthy controls (2.6±3.07 ng/ml, P<0.0005). There was no apparent correlation between serum galectin-3 concentration and clinico-pathological features such as stage, tumor size, nodal status, distant metastasis and histological grade.Conclusion: This result suggests that, in addition to other tests, measurement of serum galectin-3 concentrations can be utilized as an adjuvant test for establishing a diagnosis of OSCC.