Background: The role of apoptosis, and more specifically the Fas pathway, is still unclear in squamous cell laryngeal cancer.
Materials and methods: By means of immunohistochemistry, the expression of three genes involved in different pathways of apoptosis (p53, Bcl-2 and Fas) was studied in a series of 45 squamous cell laryngeal cancers from Spanish patients.
Results: Of the studied tumors, 25 (55.6%) expressed mutant p53, 22 (48.9%) expressed Bcl-2 and 25 (55.6%) expressed Fas. p53, Bcl-2 and Fas expression were not correlated with each other. The only tested factors associated with significantly better survival of the patients were low tumor stage (p = 0.0074), the absence of metastatic regional nodes (p = 0.0009) and Fas expression (p = 0.029). Fas expression was not correlated with the expression of any other tested parameter.
Conclusion: The determination of Fas expression in squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma by means of immunohistochemistry using the GM30/CD95 antibody could be of potential use in the clinic.