Analysis of Prognostic Factors in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Treated with Docetaxel and Concurrent Radiotherapy

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The semi-synthetic taxane, docetaxel, has demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and is thought to enhance tumor radiosensitivity. However, molecular markers that might be of use in pre icting the prognosis and sensitivity of HNSCC patients to docetaxel and radiotherapy treatment have not yet been reported. The current study aimed to address this issue and evaluate the significance of the cell-cycle-control proteins cyclin D1 and p16 as prognostic markers. Cyclin D1 and/or p16 protein expression was retrospectively evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 53 head and neck cancer patients who were treated with 10 mg/m2/week docetaxel four to six times and received concurrent chemoradiotherapy (total radiation therapy dose 65-66 Gy) over a 6.5-8 week period. 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 Dl-negative tumors or p16-positive tumors (p=0.0004 and p=0.025, respectively). The prognostic significance of cyclin D1 expression was also confirmed using a proportional hazard regression model.