Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of p16 expression on response to chemoradiation in stage IVa/b head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.
Methods: We retrospectively identified 64 patients with stage IVa/b HNSCC who received chemoradiation. Eligibility criteria included presence of biopsy-proven stage IVa/b HNSCC without a prior history of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess p16 protein expression in pretreatment biopsy specimens.
Results: Of the 64 patients, 38 showed high p16 expression, and 50 patients responded to chemoradiotherapy, 32 exhibiting a complete and 18 a partial response. Response was significantly associated with p16 expression (P < 0.001) and multivariate analysis indicated that that p16 expression (HR: 2.62, 95%C.I.: 1.14-6.06; P=0.024) was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival.
Conclusions: High p16 expression predicts a better response to chemoradiation in patients with stage IVa/b HNSCC.