The Relationship Between Poly-ADP-Ribose Polymerase-1 (PARP-1) Expression with Clinicopathological Characteristics of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Bali, Indonesia

Background: According to epidemiological research conducted in Bali, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common cancer among males, accounting for 4.9% of total cases reported between 2017 and 2019. NPC is typically detected at stage IV, indicating the presence of distant metastasis by malignant cells. However, research on the role of Poly-ADP-Ribose Polymerase-1 (PARP-1) in this type of cancer is still limited. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the relationship between PARP-1 and the clinicopathological aspects of NPC.Methods: This research employed an analytical observational design with a cross-sectional approach. From January 2018 to July 2022, biopsy tissue samples were collected from NPC patients, strictly following predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The clinical data of these patients were extracted from electronic medical records. Subsequently, the collected samples were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for PARP-1. The interpretation of PARP-1 results was conducted using the H-Score method. Data were analyzed using statistical software, specifically SPSS version 25.Results: The results showed that high PARP-1 expression was detected in 18 samples (62.1%), while the low aspect was observed in 11 samples (37.9%). Independent T-test analysis was conducted for sex, age, and clinical stage. No significant difference was found in the mean PARP-1 H-score among groups based on gender, age, and lymph node enlargement, with p-values of 0.68, 0.71, and 0.74, respectively. However, a statistically significant association was found between PARP-1 expression and clinical stage (p=0.02, 95% CI 1.45 – 63.50). Multivariate analysis showed that sex, age, lymph node enlargement, and clinical stage accounted for 22.1% of the variation in PARP-1 expression, with the clinical stage demonstrating a significant correlation (p=0.02). Conclusions: The clinicopathological data of NPC indicate a male-to-female ratio of 3:1. It was discovered that clinical stages IVA and IVB were the most commonly observed stages. Statistically significant differences were found in the mean and proportion of PARP-1 H-scores across different clinical stages. Future reviews need to include other histological subtypes and employ a prospective research design to evaluate the relationship between PARP-1 and NPC.