Preliminary study on the expression of UHRF1 in early oral squamous cell carcinoma and its clinical prognostic value

Objectives: To evaluate the expression of ubiquitin-like containing PHD and RING finger domain 1 (UHRF1) in early oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and explore its clinical significance. Methods: In total, 104 patients with early OSCC who had undergone surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China from 2008 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The correlation between UHRF1 and vimentin was assessed by evaluating their expression levels in OSCC tissue using immunofluorescence staining. The patients were divided into UHRF1/vimentin high and low expression groups on the basis of an immunoreactivity intensity distribution index value of 4. The relationships between the UHRF1 and vimentin expression levels and the clinic opathological characteristics of patients were analyzed. The influence of relevant risk factors on the patient survival rate was analyzed with the Kaplan– Meier method, whereas the relevant risk factors affecting the survival rate of patients with oral cancer were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: High UHRF1 expression was observed in OSCC tissue. Likewise, vimentin was highly expressed in mesenchymal tumor tissue, and its expression level was positively correlated with that of UHRF1 (R2 = 0.2626, P < 0.001). UHRF1 expression was correlated with the patient gender; N stage; T, N stages of the 8th edition of TNM classification; tumor differentiation; occult lymph node metastasis; neck recurrence; and postoperative local recurrence (P < 0.05). Moreover, it was positively correlated with the depth of invasion (R2 = 0.2105, P < 0.001). The vimentin expression level was related to the patient gender, T stage, 8th edition T stage, occult lymph node metastasis, neck recurrence, and local recurrence (P < 0.05). According to the Cox regression model, the UHRF1 expression level of UHRF1 was an influencing factor affecting the survival rate of patients (HR: 2.64; 95 CI%: 1.35–5.15; P = 0.004). Conclusion: UHRF1 is highly expressed in early OSCC and is closely related to epithelial–mesenchymal transition and the prognosis of patients.