Correlation between p53 and Mdm2 expression with histopathological parameters in cattle squamous cell carcinomas

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common form of carcinoma in cattle. Histopathological grading systems have been utilized over several decades for estimating the malignancy of cattle SCCs. This study aimed to detect p53 and Mdm2 expression in different SCC cases in cattle and correlate their expression with the SCC histopathological grading. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cattle SCC cases were collected at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Nineveh. The SCC grading system categorized the cases histologically based on their differentiation grade into three groups: Well, moderately, and poorly differentiated. The SCC cases were subsequently verified for p53 and Mdm2 immunoexpression. RESULTS: Fourteen of 16 examined cattle SCC samples tested positive for p53 expression. Moreover, 15 out of the 16 SCC samples tested positive for Mdm2 expression. The increased immunoreactivity of both p53 and Mdm2 was associated with a poor histological grading of the cattle SCC. There is a positive correlation between the nuclear expression of p53 and Mdm2, and the degree of differentiation and the number of mitotic figures in the examined cattle SCC samples. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate an increased p53 and Mdm2 expression in cattle SCC cases characterized by poor histopathological grading, thus suggesting an essential role of these molecules in the development of moderately and poorly differentiated SCC in cattle.