Background:The aim of this study was to evaluate biomarkers and biological characteristics of tumor biopsies from patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) to assess the risk of early death. Furthermore, we analyzed whether any combination of markers could be used for the prognostication of death within six months after cancer diagnosis.Materials and Methods:Patients diagnosed with HNC, receiving curative treatment decision at a multidisciplinary tumor board meeting, and who died within six months of diagnosis were included in this study. Nine patients who died within six months from diagnosis were identified and matched according to the tumor site and stage to seventeen patients who survived for at least two years.Results:The expression of markers was compared between the early-death patients and survivors. There was significantly higher Ki-67 expression in patients who died within six months than in those surviving for two years, with a mean difference of 21% (p= 0.038). A significant difference in cytoplasmic survivin expression was noted where early-death patients had increased expression compared to the survivors (p= 0.021). Furthermore, the intensity of survivin staining differed between the groups (p= 0.006).Conclusions:The results of this pilot study indicate that Ki67 and survivin could be potential prognostic biomarkers for early death in patients with HNC and possibly included in a panel of prognostic markers of value for treatment decision making.
背景：本研究旨在评估头颈癌患者肿瘤活检样本的生物标志物及生物学特征，以评估早期死亡风险。此外，我们分析了标志物组合是否可用于预测癌症诊断后六个月内死亡的情况。 材料与方法：本研究纳入经多学科肿瘤委员会会议决定接受根治性治疗、且在诊断后六个月内死亡的头颈癌患者。共识别出9例诊断后六个月内死亡的患者，并依据肿瘤部位和分期匹配了17例生存至少两年的患者。 结果：比较早期死亡患者与生存患者的标志物表达情况。结果显示，六个月内死亡患者的Ki-67表达水平显著高于两年生存者，平均差异达21%（p=0.038）。在细胞质生存素表达方面亦存在显著差异，早期死亡患者较生存者表达升高（p=0.021）。此外，两组间生存素染色强度存在统计学差异（p=0.006）。 结论：本初步研究表明，Ki67和生存素可能成为头颈癌患者早期死亡的潜在预后生物标志物，或可纳入具有治疗决策价值的预后标志物组合中。
Predicting Early Death in Head and Neck Cancer—A Pilot Study
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家