RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the expression of succinate dehydrogenase subunit B (SDHB) in the tissues of locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC) and the correlation with the clinicopathological factors and prognosis of rNPC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of SDHB in the tissues of primary and locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The relationship between SDHB expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed using the Chi-square test, and Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used for survival analysis. The independent prognostic factors of rNPC were analyzed by Cox regression model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Low SDHB expression was showed in 76.5% (39/51) of the patients with rNPC, significantly higher than 57.1% (24/42) of primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma (χ(2) = 4.098, P < 0.05). Low expression of SDHB strongly was correlated with T classification, clinical stage and cranial nerve palsy. Patients with low SDHB expression had a shorter survival time and a lower 3 or 5 year survival rate compared to the patients with high SDHB expression. Multivariate analysis showed that low SDHB expression was an independent predictor for overall survival of patients with rNPC (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The low SDHB expression is an independent indicator for poor prognosis of rNPC and may play an important role in the recurrence of rNPC.</p>