[The relationship between expression of Fhit and biological behaviors of hypopharyngeal carcinoma].

To investigate the expression of fragile histidine triad gene protein (Fhit) and the possible relationship between Fhit and biological behaviors of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. The expression of Fhit protein in 66 cases with hypopharyngeal carcinoma were detected by rabbit antibody to human FHIT gene protein with SP immunohistochemical method. The relationship between historical grade and lymphatic metastasis were analysed. (1) The positive expression rate of Fhit was 42.42% (28/66) in hypopharyngeal carcinoma, and 83.33% (55/66) in normal hypopharyngeal tissue, respectively. There was a significant difference in the expression of Fhit between the cancer tissue and normal tissue (P < 0.01). (2) The positive expression of Fhit in well, moderate, poor differentiated hypopharyngeal carcinoma were 65.38% (17/26), 38.10% (8/21) and 26.32% (5/19), respectively. There are significant statistic difference among them each other (P < 0.01). (3) The positive expression of Fhit was 75.00% (12/16) in the group without lymph node metastasis, and 36.00% (18/50) with lymph node metastasis. The expression of Fhit in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma lower than normal tissue. The expression of Fhit significantly associated with historical grade and lymphatic metastasis in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. It suggested that the expression of Fhit decreased may plays an important role in the development and progression of the tumor, and thus may become a new prognostic marker in hypopharyngeal carcinoma.