Expression of p73 Protein in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Its Correlation to Clinicopathological Characteristics

Objective To study the expression of p73 protein and its correlation to clinicopathological characteristics in nasopharyngeul carcinorna(NPC).Methods The immunohistchemical technique was used to detected the expression of p73 protein in 83 cases of NPC and 20 cases of chronic nasopharyngitics(CN) as well as the expression of p53 in NPC.Results The positive expression rates of p73 protein was significantly higher in NPC(50.6%) than in CN tissue(15%)(P0.05),significantly lower in stage Ⅰ?Ⅱ NPC(27.8%) than in stage Ⅲ?Ⅳ(56.9%)(P0.05).There was no significant correlation between p73 protein expression and the different clinicopathological characteristics(sex?neck lymph node metastasis?recurrence?distant metastasis and survival rate)(P0.05).The positive expression rate of p53 protein was 51.8% and not correlated to p73 protein in NPC(P0.05).Conclusion p73 protein expression is upregulated in NPC and may play important roles in the tumorigenesis and progress of NPC.