Prognostic significance of cyclin D1 and p16 in patients with intermediate-risk head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with docetaxel and concurrent radiotherapy

Background. The current study aimed to evaluate the significance of the cell-cycle-control proteins cyclin D1 and p16 as prognostic markers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients treated with docetaxel and radiotherapy. Methods. Cyclin D1 and/or p16 protein expression was retrospectively evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 53 patients with stage T1-3N0-2M0 (except T1NO glottis) HNSCC who were treated with 10 mg/m(2)/week docetaxel 4 to 6 times and received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Results. Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis revealed that patients with cyclin D1-positive tumors or p16-negative tumors had a worse prognosis compared with those with cyclin D1-negative tumors or p16-positive tumors (p =.0004 and p =.025, respectively). The prognostic significance of cyclin D1 expression, not p16 expression, was confirmed using a proportional hazard regression model. Conclusions. An assessment of cyclin D1 and p16 levels might be of clinical use in defining subgroups of patients with poor prognosis. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.