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. 2012 Apr;46(2):177-86.
doi: 10.4132/KoreanJPathol.2012.46.2.177. Epub 2012 Apr 25.

Expression of human papillomavirus-related proteins and its clinical implication in tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma

Joon Seon Song  1 , Min-Sik Kim, Joon Wook Park, Youn Soo Lee, Chang Suk Kang
Affiliations

Expression of human papillomavirus-related proteins and its clinical implication in tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma

Joon Seon Song et al. Korean J Pathol. 2012 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to cause of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC). HPV positive SqCCs overexpress p16 and are associated with better survival. Several markers of cell cycles and apoptosis have been reported as a prognostic value. We examined the prognostic value of HPV status, p16, cyclin D1, and Bcl-2 in patients with tonsillar SqCC.

Methods: Tissue microarrays were constructed in 56 cases of tonsillar SqCC for which we performed an immunohistochemistry and an in situ hybridization (ISH) of the HPV.

Results: Of the 56 cases, 31 (55.3%) were positive for p16 and 20 (35.7%) were positive for HPV ISH. The expressions of p16, cyclin D1, and Bcl-2 were not correlated with the clinicopathologic variables including smoking status, differentiation and pT- and pN-stages. The HPV ISH positive group showed a better overall survival than the HPV negative group (p=0.04), and the p16 positive group showed a better disease free survival (DFS) than the negative group (p=0.016). Cox regression analysis showed that only p16 positivity was an independent prognostic factor for DFS (p=0.03; hazard ratio, 10.1).

Conclusions: Our results indicate that both p16 expression and HPV status are useful indicators for risk stratification in patients with tonsillar SqCC.

Keywords: Bcl-2; Carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma; Cyclin D1; Human papillomavirus; Palatine tonsil; p16.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative photomicrographs of an tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma stained with antibodies against (A) p16, (B) cyclin D1, (C) Bcl-2, and (D) human papillomavirus (HPV) in situ hybridization. All of staining results are interpreted as positive.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Survival curves obtained using the Kaplan-Meier method by the log-rank test. (A, C) Disease free survival for human papillomavirus (HPV) and p16. (B, D) Overall survival for HPV and p16. (E, F) Survival curves for a subgroup analysis.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Survival curves obtained using the Kaplan-Meier method by the log-rank test. (A, C) Disease free survival for cyclin D1 and Bcl-2. (B, D) Overall survival for cyclin D1 and Bcl-2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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