Laminin-5 as a predictor of invasiveness in cancer in situ lesions of the larynx

Squamous epithelial cancer in situ (CIS) of the upper aerodigestive tract i s a histopathologically well-defined condition. There is yet no reliable wa y to predict whether a CIS lesion will progress to invasive cancel; remain stable or regress. In the search for markers able to foretell clinical outc ome, we performed immunohistochemical staining with a polyclonal antibody a gainst recombinant gamma2 chain of laminin-5 in 33 laryngeal CIS lesions. A ll six CIS lesions which progressed to invasive cancer; within a follow-lip time of 5 years, were laminin-5 positive (100%), whereas only 10 out of 27 lesions which did not progress were positive (37%) (p<0.01). Our data show ed that a positive laminin-5 laryngeal CIS lesion indicates a high risk for progression to invasive cancer.