The clinical significance of the expression of Survivin protein in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Objective To study the relationship of the protein expression of Survivin gene with the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) prognosis. Methods The expression of Survivin protein of 115 NPC patients′histological specimen were examined by immunohistochemistory S-P staining before radiotherapy. The 115 patients were treated between 1992-1994, with their pathological diagnosis definite, complishing the whole radiotherapy and being revisited over 5 years. The relationship was studied between the expression of Survivin protein in NPC tissues with clinical stagement of NPC, radiosensitivity of tumor, survival rate of patients, relapse and metastasises of carcinoma. Result The positive rate of Survivin was 68.7%. The clinical stage, metastatic potential of lymph nodes and poor sensitivity to radiotherapy were correlated with expression activity of Survivin protein. The patients with positive Survivin protein expression had worse prognosis than those with negative Survivin expression. Conclusion The high level expression of Survivin protein may be associated with the tumor developing and poor prognosis of NPC.