Epithelial expression of epithelia-cadherin in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The incidence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has been increasing day by day in the Southeast Asian countries. There is variation in the incidence rates in various parts of the world, with the highest recorded in Southeast Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The survival rate for OSCC has remained generally unchanged in the past three decades, underlining the need for more biomarkers to be developed to aid prognostication and effective treatment planning and management. The prognostic potential of epithelia-cadherin (E-cadherin) expression in OSCCs has been variable in previous studies has been correlated with improved prognosis in other cancers. The aim of the present study was to investigate and analyze the expression of E-cadherin in different histopathological grades OSCC, to understand its potential as prognostic biomarker of most common oral cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: E-cadherin expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in 35 cases of OSCC of the buccal mucosa and 5 of normal buccal mucosa. RESULTS: In our study, E-cadherin expression appeared in widely differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (130.75 ± 30.64) moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (123.66 ± 13.17), and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (88.52 ± 30.11). CONCLUSIONS: E-cadherin expression is reduced with higher grades of OSCC. However, the present results suggest that E-cadherin expression may be useful as prognostic markers for OSCC.