Expression of p53 and Bcl-xL as Predictive Markers for Larynx Preservation in Advanced Laryngeal Cancer

Abstract

Advances in chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical techniques have improved the outlook of patients with advanced larynx cancer, enabling larynx preservation and improved quality of life. Up to this point, we have been unable to predict which tumors are likely to respond to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and which tumors will be resistant and persist. To better understand the biologic response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, analysis of the phenotype of tumor cells by genetic and proteomic approaches has been under way for the past several years. Studies in the literature have examined the prognostic significance of various biomarkers, including cell cycle regulators, members of the proapoptotic family, angiogenesis markers, and proliferation markers in head and neck squamous cell cancer.^1-8 Results have been mixed, reflecting the multitude of factors that contribute to the complex tumor biologic function, as well as the heterogeneity of head and neck cancers for site, stage, prognosis, and biologic characteristics.