The expression of COMP in mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenocystic carcinoma and in adenocarcinoma NOS of the parotid gland

Introduction Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is an extracellular matrix protein that is expressed by different tumors and contributes to the progression of various malignant diseases. The role of COMP in PGC has not been clarified and should be investigated with regard to its expression.

Patients and Methods 94 matching RNA samples of PGC patients and the corresponding non-tumor area, RNA quality and quantity was sufficient for gene expression profiling using the N-Counter technology. Oncogenic and tumor suppressor genes were investigated in the three frequent PGC tumor entities: adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), adenocarcinoma NOS (AC-NOS) and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC).

Results This study reveals that in all three entities COMP is strongly and significantly upregulated both in the overall analysis (p < 0.01) and is strongly and significantly upregulated with respect to the individual entities (ACC p < 0.01; AC-NOS p < 0.01; MEC p < 0.01). In total, 44 out of 47 samples of PGC patients showed an overexpression of COMP. In contrast, COMP was hardly or not at all expressed in healthy salivary gland tissue.

Conclusions COMP mRNA levels are significantly higher in PGC patients. This suggests that COMP plays an important role in the carcinogenesis of salivary gland carcinomas and is a worthwhile approach for in-depth studies.

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Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020