The results of the univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses both illustrated that PTHrP expression could be used as an independent indicator of prognosis for patients with HNSCC, which was in accordance with reports showing that high PTHrP expression was an adverse prognostic indicator of gastroesophageal carcinoma [47] and predicted poor survival for patients with early breast cancer [48]. This evidence concerns the gene PTHLH and breast cancer.