Prognostic implications of survivin expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.

Figure 1: Relationship of Serum Survivin Presence and Tumor Stage. Significant correlation of Tumor stage and Presence of Survivin in Serum (0.048) Inhibitors of Apoptosis have been theorized to be potential future targets for cancer treatment due to the role of radiationinduced apoptosis in cancer cell death during treatment1. One particular member of this family of interest in cancer therapy and prognosis is Survivin. Survivin is a small molecular protein involved in both the apoptosis and mitosis cellular pathways. This protein is expressed during embryonic and fetal development, but is normally undetectable in adult tissues2. Recent studies have shown Survivin to be over expressed in lung, gastric, colorectal, and breast cancer. The level of expression of Survivin in many of these cancers has been associated with decreased survival, increased metastasis, and increased risk of recurrence3,4. Survivin has also been shown to be a promising target for future chemotherapy3.