Role of Nidogen-2 in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Context: Nidogen-2 () hypermethylation has been implicated in many types of cancers, such as lung, bladder, and gastric carcinomas. However, its role has not yet been studied adequately in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). HNSCCs constituting a major portion of the global cancer load, it is of importance to diagnose and treat them at earliest. This systematic review was performed to assess the role of in HNSCCs and assess its utility as a diagnostic and prognostic marker.

Materials And Methods: A systematic search was performed across multiple databases to identify studies pertaining to analysis of expression or methylation of in HNSCCs. The sample size, type of cancer/premalignant condition studied, type of tissue/fluid analysed, and the various methodologies used and their results were extracted. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021245326.

Results: Four studies were identified after a systematic search of literature. The studies analysed expression or methylation in conditions such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, esophageal carcinoma, and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). was found to be a highly specific marker for HNSCCs, and serum levels also correlated with poor survival.

Conclusion: Data from the reviewed studies indicate that hypermethylation of is highly specific for HNSCC. The high specificity is maintained in salivary and serum samples, facilitating accurate and non-invasive prognostication of HNSCC. The relatively lower sensitivity of methylation may be overcome by analysing it along with a panel of multiple biomarkers such as HOX-A2 and YKL20.