Abstract
We investigated the expression of p53 protein in 81 patients (X males and Y females) with squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx. In our examination, histopathologic evidence in the metastatic lymph nodes, such as the spread of extracapsular cancer cells, necrosis, the disappearance of lymphoid follicles and fibrotic changes were all checked and their relationship to the expression of the p53 oncoprotein was also analyzed. A positive p53 protein expression was detected in 43 of the 81 patients (54%). There were no statistically significant correlations between the survival rates, local or neck control rates and the p53 expression. On the contrary, distant metastasis was predominantly detected in cases with a p53 expression (p<0.05). The present study suggests that examining the expression of p53 protein therefore appears to be a valuable modality for predicting the clinical course of hypopharyngeal squamous cell cardinoma.
