Serum concentration of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in oral squamous cell carcinoma before and after surgery. Preliminary report

Abstract

Introduction: Generally, squamous cell carcinoma carries a poor prognosis because of its tendency to local invasion and subsequent metastasis, which is mediated by multiple factors and angiogenesis. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent mitogen for epithelial cells and regulates cell proliferation and migration and survival tumour angiogenesis and invasiveness. The aim of the study presented here was to determine the serum concentration of HGF in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma before and after initial treatment.
Material and methods: The investigation was carried out in a group of 10 men and 10 women who had been hospitalised at the Department of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery because of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Blood samples were collected before and four weeks after initial treatment. Concentrations of HGF were determined in all blood serum samples.
Results: In patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma daily oscillations of the mean values of HGF were significantly higher than those in healthy volunteers (p < 0.001). Serum concentrations of HGF were significantly higher in those patients who had undergone tumour and regional lymph node resection. Serum HGF levels correlated positively with primary tumour stage. In our study no significant association was observed between HGF levels and histological differentiation, but the daily oscillation of HGF was higher in those with G3 than in those with G2 and G1 status.
Conclusions: Our data showed that the changes can be important pathogenic elements involved in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma and may be a useful marker for clinical monitoring.