The frequency and impact of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 amplification and p16 protein expression on clinical outcomes in resected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and the impact of Fibroblast growth factor receptor1 (FGFR1) amplification and p16 protein expression on clinical outcomes in curatively resected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Tumor tissue from 383 patients with HNSCC from November 2005 and December 2012 were collected and analyzed using an FGFR1 fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) assay. High amplification was defined as percentage of tumor cells containing ≥ 9 signals in ≥ 20% cells, and low amplification was defined as percentage of tumor cells containing 2~8 signals in ≥ 20% cells. High and low amplifications were detected in 1.0% and 41.3%, respectively. In our study, the prognostic impact of FGFR1 amplification was not observed, probably due to tumor heterogeneity in HNSCC, unstandardized FISH criteria for FGFR1 amplification, varying adjuvant treatment, and wide variation in FGFR1 amplification group may contribute to the controversial result. And, as known, p16 protein expression was confirmed as a strong and independent predictor of survival. Further studies are needed to identify the criteria for FGFR1 amplification and its therapeutic efficacy.