Research Article
P53 And P16 Protein Expression and Survival in Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity
1MSc, Chief of Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria (HUSM), Av. Roraima, 1000, Camobi, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
2PhD, Professor, Head and Neck and Ear, Nose and Throat Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), R. Sena Madureira, 1500, 04021-001, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
3Medical Pathologist, Division of Pathology, HUSM, Av. Roraima, 1000, Camobi, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
Received Date:March 03, 2024; Published Date:March 20, 2024
Abstract
Objective: To examine p53 and p16 protein expression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity and to determine the influence of each protein and their association with survival.
Methods: We immunohistochemically assessed p53 and p16 expression on tumor sections from 69 patients with oral cavity SCC treated at our university hospital, between January 2014 and January 2018.
Results: Expression of p53 was observed in 69.6% of the patients, and of p16 in 30.4%. A positive p16 expression was less commonly found in the tongue and/or floor of the mouth (p = 0.0015). Patients with p53-positive tumors were 3.2 times more likely to die of the disease, whereas those with p16-positive tumors were 0.7 times more likely to die.
Conclusion: According to these results at primary sites, both p53 and p16 are relevant biomarkers, where p53 serves as a risk marker and p16 as a protective marker in oral cavity SCC.
Keywords:Mouth neoplasms; Squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck; Survival; Biomarkers; Prognosis
