Evaluation of paxillin expression in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma: An immunohistochemical study

BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the tenth most common cancer in the world. The diagnosis of OSCC remains problematic, especially in advanced-stage tumors. AIMS: The present study was conducted to understand the pattern of expression of paxillin in varying grades of carcinomas and also to ascertain whether its expression has an association with increasing grades. METHODS: A total of ninety formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of OSCC were included in the study comprising thirty cases of each of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinomas, moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinomas (MDSCCs) and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas (PDSCCs). The tissue sections were subjected to immunohistochemical staining of paxillin using super polymer-sensitive polymer 3,3’ diaminobenzidine detection kit. All the three groups were analyzed on various parameters including staining intensity, location and percentage of staining. SPSS 19.0 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Paxillin stain positivity was observed in 95.5% of the cases. Predominant intense paxillin staining was demonstrated in 17 (56.6%) cases of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, 28 (93.3%) cases of moderately differentiated squamous squamous cell carcinoma and 15 (50%) cases of PDSCC. A predominant cytoplasmic staining was observed in 21 (70%) cases of PDSCC and cytoplasmic plus membrane staining in 14 (46.6%) cases of MDSCC. CONCLUSION: The present study provides evidence that paxillin may be involved in the development and progression of OSCC. Thus, paxillin could be considered a useful biomarker for patient management and prognosis.