NF‑κB (p65) protein expression in head and neck tumors and its association with clinicopathological parameters

Head and neck tumors (HNTs) are a diverse group of tumors that develop due to a variety of genetic and environmental risk factors with varying incidence rates. Nuclear factor κB (NF‑κB), is a transcription factor that has been linked to malignant tumors and chronic inflammation. However, there is a paucity of available data globally on NF‑κB (p65) in HNTs. The present study evaluated the association between clinicopathological features of patients with HNT and NF‑κB (p65) protein expression. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine NF‑κB (p65) expression in 112 HNT tissues comprising of 62 benign and 50 malignant tumors. The Chi‑square test and Fisher's exact test were employed to analyze the associatoin between NF‑κB (p65) protein expression patterns and the clinicopathological features of the patients. NF‑κB (p65) protein was expressed in 58.9% of head and neck tumors evaluated. There was a significant association between NF‑κB (p65), sex and tumor type. There was a high NF‑κB (p65) expression in malignant tumors, with its expression in malignant tumors being 2‑fold higher than that in benign tumors. NF‑κB (p65) expression in malignant tumors was associated with the male sex and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage. On the whole, the present study emphasizes that NF‑κB (p65) protein expression levels may indeed be controlled by sex and TNM stage, with a higher NF‑κB (p65) activity observed in male patients with HNTs. Therefore, it may be explored as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.