Researchers from the University of Turku and the InFLAMES research flagship have identified what they describe as a promising way to predict recurrence and mortality risk in patients with early-stage oral malignancies by examining proliferative activity in lymphatic vessels within tumor tissue.
The team discovered for the first time that the surface cells of lymphatic vessels in oral tumors contain proteins that indicate cell division and strongly predict disease progression and mortality. Their findings suggest that assessing proliferating lymphatic vessels may provide prognostic value beyond previously known risk factors.
Oral malignancies are the most common cancers in the head and neck region, accounting for more than 188,000 deaths worldwide annually. Unlike many other cancer types, even small and early-stage tumors in the oral cavity can be fatal. In Finland, where the study was conducted, up to one-fifth of patients treated at an early stage later die from the disease.
The investigators analyzed early-stage tumor samples from approximately 300 Finnish patients. Using multiple protein markers, they evaluated various defense and structural cells within tumor tissue. Some tumors demonstrated a higher number of proliferating lymphatic vessels than normal tissue. According to the researchers, this elevated proliferation predicted recurrence and death more accurately than any other previously established risk factor for this disease.
Lymphatic vessels are normally present in the mouth; however, in healthy oral tissue, their cells rarely divide, and marker proteins indicating cell division are typically not observed.
"It is crucial to identify aggressive forms of the disease at the diagnostic stage to ensure that the increased risk of cancer recurrence and death can be addressed when planning the treatment. Currently, local oral cancer treatment mainly involves surgery, and there are no precise methods for targeting adjuvant therapies. We need biomarkers so that we can treat high-risk patients more effectively and avoid exposing patients with a better prognosis to the potentially serious adverse effects of adjuvant therapies,” said Joni Näsiaho, doctoral researcher at the University of Turku and physician specialising in oncology, and lead author of the study.
“We are excited about the results and believe that the findings could also be applied as a practical tool for clinical use. Furthermore, it would be interesting to find out whether the marker we discovered has a similar predictive value in other cancer groups,” said Näsiaho.
The study was published in Cell Reports Medicine. The research was funded by the Research Council of Finland, the Cancer Foundation Finland, and Finnish Government research funding. The work was carried out at the MediCity Research Laboratory in the group of Professor and InFLAMES group leader Marko Salmi. Three ear, nose and throat specialists from Turku University Hospital who treat and study the disease also participated in the project.
The original research article is available at https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(26)00032-7.
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