© 2004 European Society for Medical Oncology
Expression of Cox-2 protein in radioresistant laryngeal cancer
Nix et al. [1
] concluded that their study demonstrates that Cox-2 expression may have prognostic value in predicting response to radiotherapy in T1 or T2 laryngeal cancer. However, in examining results of the article (May 5 issue), we find that there was no Cox-2 overexpression in 33% of the patients with radioresistant tumours, as compared with 59% of the patients with radiosensitive tumours [1], and we have a comment on the study.
Many patients experience throat pain during radiotherapy-induced mucositis. Is there any use of Cox-1 or -2 inhibitors for analgesic means during radiotherapy in either group, especially in Cox-2-positive patients? On the contrary, Ranelletti et al. [2] demonstrated that Cox-2 was overexpressed in less aggressive, low-grade laryngeal cancers, whereas its expression was lost when tumours progressed to a more malignant phenotype. It is somewhat difficult to say that radiosensitivity only correlated with Cox-2 expression in tumour tissue in these patients. Also, the relationships between Cox-2 expression and other molecular targets, including the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway, and angiogenesis should be studied in well-designed preclinical and clinical studies in head and neck cancers.
Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara, Turkey
* Email: bulyalcin{at}yahoo.com
References
1. Nix P, Lind M, Greeman J et al. Expression of Cox-2 protein in radioresistant laryngeal cancer. Ann Oncol 2004; 15: 797–801.
2. Ranelletti FO, Almadori G, Rocca B et al. Prognostic significance of cyclooxygenase-2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Int J Cancer 2001; 95: 343–349.[CrossRef][Medline]
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