Thymidylate synthase expression as a predictor of clinical response to 5-fluorouracil-based chemoradiotherapy in patients with maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunohistochemical TS expression in patients with maxillary sinus SCC.

METHODS

The value of immunohistochemical TS expression as a predictive indicator for 5-FU efficacy was retrospectively examined in 47 patients with maxillary sinus SCC.

RESULTS

Of the 47 patients, 29 (62%) showed complete response for 5-FU based chemoradiotherapy. Seventeen of 19 (89%) TS low cases showed a complete response, whereas 12 of 28 (43%) TS high cases showed complete response for 5-FU based chemoradiotherapy. Low TS patients had significantly better response rates compared with high TS patients.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that TS expression affects the chemotherapeutic effect of 5-FU in patients with maxillary sinus SCC and the assessment of TS expression level might be useful both in the management and in the treatment of maxillary sinus SCC.