Assessment of GLUT1 Immunohistochemical Expression in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Association with Histopathological Parameters

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are the sixth most common cancer worldwide with incidence of increasing up to 30% which means 1.08 million new cases per year. In Egypt, HNSCCs constitute about 17-20% of all malignancies. Metabolism in cancer cells differs from that of normal cells in a phenomenon known as Warburg effect. Glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) is a protein located on the cell membrane of mammalian cells and help in glucose transport across cell membrane. Since cancer cells divide rapidly and exhibit glucose hunger, it shows increased expression of GLUT-1 in all layers of epithelium as compared to normal epithelium. Aim: To assess the expression of GLUT-1 receptors in HNSCCs in association with histopathological and clinical findings to evaluate its role as a prognostic marker or a possible therapeutic target. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pathology Department of Faculty of Medicine at Suez Canal University. 44 HNSCC specimens were analyzed for immunohistochemichal expression of GLUT-1. Results: 63.6% of cases had high GLUT-1 expression, while 36.4% of cases had low GLUT-1 expression. GLUT-1 expression showed statistically significant association with tumor recurrence (p=0.006), tumor staging (p=0.013), lymphovascular invasion (p=0.013), and neutrophilic infiltrate (p=0.004). Conclusion: This study concluded that GLUT-1 is expressed in all cases of HNSCCs and showed statistically significant association with aggressive tumor characteristics such as tumor stage, lymphovascular invasion, and intra-tumoral neutrophilic infiltrate. High GLUT-1 expression is also associated with tumor recurrence which indicate poor prognosis.