This study was to investigate the expression patterns of two distinct p73 isoforms (deltaNp73 and TAp73alpha) in cervical squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and the relationship between their expressions and prognostic significance in cervical SCC patients.
Frequent allelic losses on the short arm of chromosome 1 and decreased expression of the p73 gene at 1p36.3 in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.
Our study indicates that (1) p63 and p73 expression may represent an early event in HNSC tumorigenesis, (2) the lack of correlation between p73 or p63 and p53 expression suggests an independent and/or compensatory functional role, (3) p73 expression may play a part in HNSC progression, and (4) p73 and p63 may function as oncogenes in the development of these tumors.