The prognostic value of USP7 and p53 in advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma

Background: Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC) is a rare malignancy of poor prognosis in head and neck. The aim of the study is to assess the expression and prognostic value of USP7 and p53 in advanced HPSCC. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on a cohort of 103 patients with advanced HPSCC. The immunohistochemical expression of USP7 and p53 was evaluated in all the patients, and the prognostic value of USP7 and p53 was further evaluated. Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and local-regional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results: In our study, 78 patients (75.7%) showed low expression of USP7, and the other 25 patients (24.3%) had high expression of USP7; additionally, high USP7 expression was associated with advanced T stage. Low expression of p53 was found in 52 patients (50.5%), while the other 51 patients (49.5%) had a high expression of p53. Our data revealed that low expression of p53 was associated with the advanced N stage (p=0.028). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that high expression of USP7 was significantly correlated with the inferior OS, DFS, DMFS, and LRFS, respectively (all p<0.05); additionally, high expression of p53 was correlated with superior OS (p=0.023). The Cox proportional multivariate hazard model revealed that high expression of USP7 was an independent predictor of poor OS, DFS, and LRFS, respectively (all p<0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that USP7 combined with p53 are reliable prognostic factors in patients with advanced HPSCC.