Survivin and laryngeal carcinoma prognosis: nuclear localization and expression of splice variants

Aberrant survivin expression in cancer cells has been associated with tumour progression, radiation/drug resistance and shorter patient survival. The aim of the present study was to investigate survivin expression in laryngeal carcinoma (LSCC) tissue and - for the first time at this site - the expression of survivin splice variants. P53 was also studied.

Survivin and p53 expression was determined immunohistochemically in 86 consecutive patients operated for LSCC. Survivin mRNA expression was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Hot-spot mutations in exons 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the TP53 gene were studied by sequencing analysis. A nuclear localization for survivin predominated. There was a significant association between a higher nuclear survivin expression and LSCC recurrence (P = 0.046). Disease-free survival (DFS) for LSCC patients with a nuclear survivin expression >7.0% was shorter than in cases whose expression was ≤7.0% (P = 0.05). Wild-type survivin correlated significantly with nuclear survivin expression (P = 0.02). p53 expression was associated with the co-expression of wild-type survivin and survivin-2B (P = 0.01).

Nuclear expression of survivin appears to influence LSCC aggressiveness, a higher nuclear survivin expression correlating with a higher recurrence rate and a shorter DFS. Wild-type survivin was the most frequently detected splice variant in LSCC tissues.