p53 expression in concurrent chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Background The current study aimed to evaluate the significance of an immunohistochemical assessment of tumor suppressor p53 as a prognostic marker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients treated with docetaxel and radiotherapy. Methods The expression of tumor suppressor p53 and its phosphorylated form at the Ser392 residue was retrospectively evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 51 Stage T1-3N0-2M0 (except T1N0 glottis) HNSCC patients who were treated with 10 mg/m 2 /week docetaxel four to six times and received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Results Kaplan–Meier univariate analysis revealed that no difference in rates for overall and disease-free survival (DFS) between patients with p53-positive and -negative tumors ( p = 0.786 and p = 0.924, respectively). The prognostic significance of phosphorylated p53 at the Ser392 residue was neither observed. Conclusions An immunohistochemical assessment of the expression of p53 and its phosphorylated form might not be of clinical use in defining subgroups of patients with poor prognosis.