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Clinical and molecular characteristics of Jordanian oropharyngeal cancer patients according to P16 expression: a retrospective study and a report of a novel biomarker

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the clinicopathological features of oropharyngeal cancer patients in Jordan based on their HPV status. Sixty-nine biopsies from two hospitals were included. Tissue microarrays were prepared from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens and stained with antibodies for CDKN2A/P16, EGFR, PI3K, PTEN, AKT, pS473AKT, PS2mTOR, and TIMAP. The cohort was divided according to P16 expression. Chi-square test and survival analyses were employed to evaluate the variations among the study variables and determine the prognostic factors, respectively. P16 expression was found in 55.1% of patients; however, there was no significant association between P16 expression and the patients’ clinicopathological features. The Kaplan–Meier test revealed that smoking in P16-positive group and younger age (< 58 years) negatively impacted disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.04 and P = 0.003, respectively). Multivariate Cox regression test indicated that smoking, age, PI3K, and AKT were negative predictors of DFS (P = 0.021, P = 0.002, P = 0.021, and P = 0.009, respectively), while TIMAP was a positive predictor (P = 0.045). Elevated P16 expression is found in more than half of the patients’ specimens. DFS is negatively affected by younger age and the combined effect of smoking and P16 overexpression. TIMAP is overexpressed in P16-positive oropharyngeal cancer, and it is a favorable predictor of DFS.

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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

Deanship of Scientific Research,Jordan university of science and technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O.Box 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    Marya Obeidat

  2. Department of Special Surgery, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, 11941, Jordan

    Wisam Algargaz

  3. Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    Wisam Algargaz

  4. Department of Pathology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    Marwa Barukba & Samir Al Bashir

  5. Department of Applied Biology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    Khaldon Bodoor

  6. Department of Radiation Oncology, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, 11941, Jordan

    Issa Mohamad

  7. Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, 11941, Jordan

    Farid Barakat

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  1. Marya Obeidat
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Conceptualization: MO, WA, and KB; data curation: MO; formal analysis: MO; investigation, MB, IM, FB, and SB; methodology: MO; resources: MO, SB, and WA; validation: MO, KB, SB, and WA; writing––original draft: MO, MB, and WA; Writing––review and editing: MO, KB, and WA.

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Correspondence to Marya Obeidat.

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Obeidat, M., Algargaz, W., Barukba, M. et al. Clinical and molecular characteristics of Jordanian oropharyngeal cancer patients according to P16 expression: a retrospective study and a report of a novel biomarker. Med Mol Morphol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-024-00383-2

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