Predictive value of transcriptional expression of Krüppel-like factor-6 (KLF6) in head and neck carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy

Purpose To analyse the relationship between the transcriptional expression of Krüppel-like factor-6 (KLF6) and local response to treatment with radiotherapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Methods We determined the transcriptional expression of KLF6 in tumour biopsies obtained before treatment with radiotherapy in 83 HNSCC patients. The KLF6 expression was categorized according to the local control of the disease with a recursive partitioning analysis. Results During the follow-up period, 27 patients (32.5%) had a local recurrence of the tumour. Patients with local recurrence had significantly higher levels of KLF6 expression than patients in which radiotherapy achieved local control of the disease ( P = 0.029). Five-year local recurrence-free survival for patients with a high transcriptional expression of KLF6 ( n = 46) was 51.1% (95% CI 36.4–66.2%), and for patients with low expression it was 85.6% (95% CI 73.9–97.3%) ( P = 0.0001). The results of a multivariate analysis showed that patients with a high KLF6 expression had a 3.8 times higher risk of local recurrence after treatment with radiotherapy (95% CI 1.4–10.5, P = 0.008). Conclusion Transcriptional expression of KLF6 was significantly related to local control in HNSCC patients treated with radiotherapy. Patients with high levels of KLF6 expression had a significantly higher risk of local recurrence after treatment.