Bcl-xL protein: Predictor of complete tumor response in patients with oral cancer treated with curative radiotherapy

Background We earlier observed altered expression of p53 and Bcl-xL in oral cancer cell lines/tissues and wanted to evaluate these proteins for prediction of radiotherapy response and outcome. Methods Thirty-nine paraffin-embedded, pretreatment oral cancer biopsies were analyzed for protein expression using immunohistochemistry and correlated with tumor response to radiotherapy and disease-free survival (DFS). Result High p53 (p = .040) was observed in female versus male patients. Increased p53 intensity (p = .063) was observed in tobacco habitues (chewers ± smokers) versus patients with no habits. In univariate analysis, nodal positivity (p = .044) and favorable/complete tumor response (p = .002) exhibited a significant correlation with DFS, whereas tumor response emerged as an independent predictor of DFS in multivariate analysis. Significantly high Bcl-xL (p = .048) was observed in the unfavorable versus favorable responders. Conclusion Our study suggests that Bcl-xL expression along with clinical parameters may be useful for identifying patients with oral cancer likely to draw maximum benefit from curative radiotherapy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 35: 1448–1453, 2013