A comparative study of osteopontin expression, Ki67 index and prognosis in squamous cell carcinoma and cysts of the oral cavity

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown a strong relationship between the expression of osteopontin and oral carcinogenesis. Osteopontin (OPN) has been shown to play a major role in regulating the aggressiveness of cancer cells and promote tumor growth. Odontogenic cysts are an essential aspect of oral and maxillofacial pathology. They are relatively frequent lesions with different clinical behavior. Some of them may have a proliferative pattern of growth and neoplastic nature. Evaluation of osteopontin expression with Ki-67 index may help examine clinical behavior and recurrence of oral squamous cell cancer and radicular cyst patients. METHODS: A total of 44 oral cavity cancer cases and 21 cysts samples were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. Data used for analysis were derived from medical records. The following information was obtained from all patients’ medical records: survival, age, sex, lymph node status, tumor size, and location, as well as grade and histologic type of tumor. Expression status of OPN and Ki-67 was statistically assessed. RESULTS: Our data demonstrated that for summary immunoreactive scores of OPN and Ki-67 expressions in OSCC vs. RC patients statistical significance was found for both markers’ between OSCC and RC groups. Moreover, osteopontin is significantly higher expressed in larger OSCC tumors. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the role of OPN expression both in oral squamous cancer cells and radicular cyst and possible correlation with demographic and clinicopathological features remain undetermined in some aspects, further high-powered studies to develop a more standardized assessment of Ki-67 and osteopontin expression in OSCC and are needed.