Stathmin and EGFR correlates to HPV status and clinical outcome in sinonasal inverted papilloma

Inverted papilloma (IP) is a locally destructive benign tumour of the sinonasal mucosa with a tendency for malignant transformation. Stathmin and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are important markers in cancer prognosis. Here we investigate if expression of stathmin and EGFR correlate to dysplasia, recurrence and HPV in IP.98 patients with IP diagnosed 2000-2010 were analyzed for stathmin and EGFR by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and HPV by polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR).All IPs expressed stathmin while its expression was absent or weak in normal mucosa. Dysplasia was present in 26,7% of IPs with high stathmin expression while only 7.4% of IPs with low stathmin expression showed dysplasia. Stathmin positive IPs showed a trend towards earlier recurrences. 57.1% of IP expressed EGFR but no significant association was seen between EGFR-positivity and recurrence or dysplasia. EGFR was expressed by 91.7% of the HPV-positive IPs compared to 52,3% of the HPV negative IPs.EGFR expression is significantly higher in HPV positive IP. Stathmin is expressed by all IP tumour cells. Stathmin was also associated with dysplasia and a trend towards a correlation between stathmin positivity and recurrence was found. Stathmin and EGFR might therefore be considered therapeutic targets.