Conclusion
Our study demonstrates that pAKT expression is a predictive biomarker of cetuximab-based induction chemotherapy in OSCC.
Objective
Molecular alterations in downstream effectors of epidermal growth factor receptor may confer resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors. Our aim is to investigate whether PTEN/pAKT expression predicts response to cetuximab-based chemotherapy in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Study design: We analyzed a cohort of 50 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma treated with cetuximab-based induction chemotherapy. PTEN expression and pAKT expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry and their correlation with treatment outcome was analyzed.
Results
Of the study patients, 18.4% had low PTEN expression, and 38.8% had high pAKT expression. Lower pAKT expression were associated with pathologic remission (P = .034) and better disease-free survival (P = .031).