Prognostic relevance of insulin resistance on disease-free survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas: Preliminary results.

BACKGROUND: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of pretreatment glycemic parameters in the prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

METHODS: Plasma samples of 71 patients with untreated HNSCC were obtained at the time of diagnosis. The prognostic value of fasting insulin, glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin levels, and the homeostatic model of risk assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was evaluated toward disease-free survival.

RESULTS: High HOMA-IR levels were associated with poor disease-free survival in intermediate-advanced stage tumors. Kaplan-Meier curves showed lower disease-free survival rates in patients with high HOMA-IR than in patients with low levels. In patients with intermediate-advanced stage tumors, multivariate analysis revealed that those with an HOMA-IR >2.974 presented a 2.7 times higher risk of poor outcome (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.023-7.341; P = .045).

CONCLUSION: The HOMA-IR is independently associated with disease-free survival in patients with HNSCC. We found an optimal HOMA-IR cutoff value for disease-free survival in patients with intermediate-advanced HNSCC.