The prognostic significance of IGF-1R and the predictive risk value of circulating IGF-1 in Tunisian patients with laryngeal carcinoma.

The aim was to evaluate the clinical impact of IGF-1/IGF-1R in Tunisian laryngeal carcinoma. A high IGF-1R immunohistochemical expression was found in our series (81.43%). A tendency toward an association between IGF-1R expression and lymph node metastasis was found (p = 0.068). Patients with positive IGF-1R expression showed a short disease free survival (p = 0.053) and a high recurrence rate. Furthermore, circulating IGF-1 levels sera, detected by ELISA, were higher among patients compared to controls (p < 0.001). IGF-1R might have a prognostic significance and could be a factor of tumor recurrence. However, high levels of IGF-1 increase the risk of developing of LSCC disease.