title: Nuclear p27 expression confers a favorable outcome for nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study is to explore the correlation between nuclear expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (p27) and clinicopathologic features in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), including patient survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of p27 in 130 primary NPC tissues. The relationship between the levels of p27 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics was analyzed. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. The significance of various survival variables was analyzed using multivariate Cox proportional hazards model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  p27 was expressed in both nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments. Nuclear expression of p27 was inversely correlated with T classification and clinical stage. Patients with nuclear p27 expression had better overall survival rates than those without nuclear expression of p27. Further, we observed that nuclear expression of p27 was positively associated with survival time of NPC patients not only in N0-1 and M0 classifications but also in radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment groups. Finally, we found that nuclear expression of p27 was not an independent prognostic factor for patients with NPC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings hint that nuclear expression of p27 is a potentially favorable factor in the progression and prognosis of NPC.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yufei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Yajie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Huiling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Weiyi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D050760:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 / Q000378:metabolism*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C436291:CDKN1B protein, human; D050760:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27