Primary chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is an established treatment option for locally advanced
head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) usually combining intensity modified radiotherapy with concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy. Though the majority of patients can be
cured with this regimen, treatment response is highly heterogeneous and can hardly be predicted.
SEC62 represents a metastasis stimulating oncogene that is frequently overexpressed in various
cancer entities and is associated with poor outcome. Its role in HNSCC patients undergoing CRT
has not been investigated so far. A total of 127 HNSCC patients treated with primary CRT were
included in this study. The median follow-up was 5.4 years. Pretherapeutic tissue samples of the
primary tumors were used for immunohistochemistry targeting SEC62. SEC62 expression, clinical
and histopathological parameters, as well as patient outcome, were correlated in univariate and
multivariate survival analyses. High SEC62 expression correlated with a significantly shorter overall
survival (p = 0.015) and advanced lymph node metastases (p = 0.024). Further significant predictors
of poor overall and progression-free survival included response to therapy (RECIST1.1), nodal status,
distant metastases, tobacco consumption, recurrence of disease, and UICC stage. In a multivariate
Cox hazard proportional regression analysis, only SEC62 expression (p = 0.046) and response to therapy (p < 0.0001) maintained statistical significance as independent predictors of the patients’ overall
survival. This study identified SEC62 as an independent prognostic biomarker in HNSCC patients
treated with primary CRT. The role of SEC62 as a potential therapeutic target and its interaction with
radiation-induced molecular alterations in head and neck cancer cells should further be investigated