[Prognostic value of markers for proliferative activity and apoptotic regulation in laryngeal squamous cell...

Prognosis for patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma depends on many factors, among which molecular biological markers receive ever increasing attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic value of the expression of the proteins p53 and bcl-2 and the proliferation markers Ki-67 and cyclin D1 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Biopsy specimens from 64 patients aged 34 to 77 years (mean age 56+1.2 years) with invasive laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, who received combination therapy at the Medical Radiology Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, were studied. The level of Ki-67 and the expression of cyclin D1, p53, and bcl-2 were compared with clinical and anatomic parameters (T stage, tumor grade, and the presence of regional metastases), using Student's t-test and fourfold table analysis (X2 or Fisher's exact test). Survival rates were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method; the significance of differences between survival curves was confirmed by Cox's F-test. The value p0.05 was taken to be significant. Ki-67 is an important prognostic marker for the N status (p=0.03) and recurrence (p=0.04) and a marker for tumor grading (p<0.01). Cyclin D1 expression is associated with low overall and relapse-free survival rates (p=0.05 and 0.03, respectively). The prognostic marker for a recurrence is p53 (p=0.01) that is related to the N status at the trend level (p=0.08). The marker bcl-2 is associated with high overall survival (p=0.01) and N status at the trend level (p=0.08).