ORIGINAL ARTICLE CD151 expression is frequent but unrelated to clinical outcome in head and neck cancer Julie C. Nienstedt 1 & Alexander Gröbe 2 & Patrick Lebok 3 & Franziska Büscheck 3 & Till Clauditz 3 & Ronald Simon 3 & Asmus Heumann 3,4 & Guido Sauter 3 & Christoph Moebius 6 & Adrian Münscher 5 & Rainald Knecht 5 & Marco Blessmann 6 & Max Heiland 2 & Christina Pflug 1 Received: 12 May 2016 /Accepted: 10 July 2016 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract Objectives CD151 is a plasma membrane protein belonging to the tetraspanin family. CD151 represents a putative thera- peutic target and has been suggested as a prognostic marker in several cancer types. The present study aims to investigate the prognostic relevance of immunohistochemical CD151 expres- sion in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Materials and methods Tissue microarray (TMA) sections containing samples from 667 cancers of oral cavity, oro- and hypopharynx and larynx, for which follow-up data were avail- able, were analyzed for CD151 expression by immunohistochemistry. Results Membranous CD151 immunostaining was recorded in 269 (60.3 %) of 446 analyzable cases. Staining was consid- ered weak in 129 (28.9 %), moderate in 98 (22.0 %), and strong in 42 (9.4 %) of cancers. CD151 expression was unre- lated to histological grade, tumor stage, nodal status, or surgi- cal margin. There was a tendency towards a somewhat lower prevalence of CD151 expression in tumors of the oral cavity (52.9 % positive) as compared to cancers of the oro- hypopharynx (62.1 %) and larynx (63.3 %; p = 0.0100). CD151 expression had no impact on patient survival. Clinical relevance In summary, immunohistochemical analy- sis of CD151 lacks prognostic utility in HNSCC. The high prevalence of CD151 expression in HNSCC emphasizes its putative relevance as a therapeutic target for further develop- ment of anti-CD151 drugs. Keywords CD151 . Immunohistochemistry . Prognosis . Head and neck cancer Introduction Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) involving the mucosa of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx is the sixth most common cancer with an incidence rate of more than half a million new cases each year worldwide [1]. Overall, the 5- year survival rate of these tumors is about 50 % [2, 3]. Treatment options include mutilating surgery, aggressive che- motherapy, and radiation with multiple unwanted side effects. A better prediction of individual patient prognosis would greatly facilitate treatment decisions. It can be hoped, that advances in our understanding of the biology of these tumors will lead to better prognostic biomarkers but currently, these are lacking. Julie C. Nienstedt, Alexander Gröbe, Max Heiland, and Christina Pflug, these authors have equally contributed * Ronald Simon r.simon@uke.de 1 Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Department of Voice, Speech and Hearing Disorders, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany 2 Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Oral & Maxillofacial surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany 3 Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany 4 Center for Surgical Sciences, Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany 5 Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Department of Otolaryngology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany 6 Center for Surgical Sciences, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany Clin Oral Invest DOI 10.1007/s00784-016-1911-3