Expression of survivin in laryngeal cancer

OBJECTIVE To study the expression of an inhibitor of apoptosis protein, survivin, in laryngeal cancer and its relationship with expression of p53, tumor angiogenesis and histopathological factors. METHODS The expressions of survivin,p53,CD34 were detected by immunohistochernical staining for the paraffin sections(S-P mothod)in 40 specimenst of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissues.RESULTS Survivin was expressed in 23 of 40 (57.5 %) cases of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. In contrast, normal laryngeal epithelium did not express survivin. Survivin positive cases were strongly associated with p53 protein expression (19/ 26, 73.1 % versus 4/14, P =0.007). The average density of intratumoral microvessel in survivin positive cases was more than that in survivin negative cases(P0.001). Furthermore, the overexpression of survivin was related to the tumor clinical stage, histological grade and cervical lymph node metastases. CONCLUSION Survivin is high expressed in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and is associated with the expression of p53 protein and tumor angiogenesis. It may play an anti-apoptosis role in the pathway of carcinogenesis and metastasis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.