This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chang, B. W. Articles by Haffty, B. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chang, B. W. Articles by Haffty, B. G.

Prognostic Significance of Cyclooxygenase-2 in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

¹ Departments of Therapeutic Radiology and ² Pathology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and ³ Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut

Purpose: To determine the relative prognostic significance of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Experimental Design: This retrospective cohort study included 82 patients with SCC referred to the Department of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale-New Haven Hospital (Connecticut) between 1980 and 1999 who were treated with primary external beam radiotherapy or gross total surgical resection and postoperative radiotherapy. A microarray of archival tumor tissue was constructed and stained with monoclonal antibodies directed against COX-2 and scored for intensity by a pathologist blinded to the clinical outcomes of the patients. COX-2 immunoreactivity and clinicopathological data were analyzed with respect to survival endpoints using bivariate and multivariate techniques.

Results: Frequency of COX-2 overexpression was 45%. In multivariate analysis, COX-2 positivity predicted poor 3-year survival (P = 0.02; odds ratio = 0.41; 95% confidence interval, 0.20–0.84). Increasing age was significantly associated with increased 3-year survival (P = 0.03; odds ratio = 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.004–1.09). Positive COX-2 status trended toward predicting decreased 3-year disease-free survival.

Conclusions: COX-2 was the most important predictor of poor survival in this patient cohort. In patients with oropharyngeal SCC treated with external-beam radiation therapy, overexpression of COX-2 may affect clinical outcome, and COX-2 may therefore prove valuable both as a prognostic factor and as a therapeutic target.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. G. Lyons, V. Patel, N. C. Roue, S. Y. Fok, L. L. Soon, G. M. Halliday, and J. S. Gutkind Snail Up-regulates Proinflammatory Mediators and Inhibits Differentiation in Oral Keratinocytes Cancer Res., June 15, 2008; 68(12): 4525 - 4530. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. K. Sackett, I. Bairati, F. Meyer, E. Jobin, S. Lussier, A. Fortin, M. Gelinas, A. Nabid, F. Brochet, and B. Tetu Prognostic Significance of Cyclooxygenase-2 Overexpression in Glottic Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., January 1, 2008; 14(1): 67 - 73. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. H. Kim, V. Bossuyt, T. Ponn, D. Lannin, and B. G. Haffty Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression in Postmastectomy Chest Wall Relapse Clin. Cancer Res., July 15, 2005; 11(14): 5199 - 5205. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]