Objective: To study the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) protein in buccal carcinoma and its biological significance.
Methods: The expression of HIF-1alpha was assayed by means of immunohistochemical technique in 60 patients. The expression of HIF-1alpha and its relationship with clinical pathological factors and tumor prognosis were investigated and analyzed statistically by Kruskal-Wallis Test.
Results: The positive rate of HIF-1alpha was higher in T3-4 than T1-2, and the positive rate of HIF-1alpha was higher in patients with cervical lymphatic metastasis than patients without cervical lymphatic metastasis. Patients with HIF-1alpha over-expression had poor prognosis than patients with HIF-1alpha lower expression.
Conclusion: Over-expression of HIF-1alpha is a vital biological marker in prognosis of buccal cancer.