Cell cycle and viral and immunologic profiles of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma as predictable variables of tumor progression.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether the aberrant expression of cell-cycle or immune-response markers together with human papillomavirus (HPV) positivity impacts patient survival in different head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) subsets. A total of 59 HNSCC specimens were analyzed for expression of cell cycle and proliferation markers, and macrophage infiltration. HPV was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. The HPV presence in oropharynx carcinoma was associated with survival advantage. Low Ki67 expression was associated with favorable outcome in oropharynx and oral cavity carcinoma. A more favorable outcome was associated with low cyclin E expression in larynx carcinoma and with low p53 expression in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity. A direct correlation between macrophage infiltration and tumor proliferation index was observed irrespective of the tumor subset. The assessment of proliferation, viral, and immunologic profiles may be crucial to finding beneficial treatments for the different HNSCC subsets.