OBJECTIVE: Temporal bone squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for less than 
0.2% of all head and neck tumors. Although some progress has been made in 
treating this aggressive tumor, the prognosis in advanced cases remains poor. 
More effective therapeutic strategies need to be considered, including 
receptor-mediated carcinoma-targeted therapy. Phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) 
regulates many genes that are necessarily expressed in cancer initiation, 
development, and progression, being involved in proliferation, anti-apoptosis, 
invasion, angiogenesis, and immune surveillance evasion. The aim of the present 
study was to preliminarily investigate the potential prognostic role of pSTAT3 
expression in temporal bone SCC.
STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective clinicopathologic investigation.
SETTING: Tertiary referral centers.
PATIENTS: Twenty-five consecutively operated patients with primary temporal bone 
SCC.
INTERVENTION: pSTAT3 immunohistochemical expression in primary temporal bone 
SCCs was assessed with the aid of computer-based image analysis.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Conventional clinicopathologic parameters and pSTAT3 
expression were correlated with SCC prognosis.
RESULTS: pT, stage, and surgical margin status were significantly related with 
recurrence rate (p = 0.002, p = 0.01, and p = 0.047, respectively) and 
disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.0049, p = 0.031, and p = 0.035, 
respectively). pT classification was also related with disease-specific survival 
(DSS) (p = 0.035). The SCC recurrence rate did not correlate with pSTAT3 
expression. Statistical analyses ruled out any significant difference in DFS or 
DSS when patients were stratified by pSTAT3 expression (>80.0% or ≤80.0%).
CONCLUSION: Despite our preliminary results, the role of pSTAT3 in temporal bone 
SCC warrants further investigation in larger series because there is increasing 
evidence in preclinical models to indicate that inhibiting STAT3 phosphorylation 
can be a useful addition to different anticancer strategies.