Diagnostic and Prognostic Significance of E-Cadherin and Vimentin in Oral Cancer Metastasis

Authors

  • Kafil Akhtar
  • Anjum Ara
  • Shahid Siddiqui
  • Rana Sherwani

Keywords:

Oral squamous cell carcinoma, Immunohistochemistry, E-cadherin, Vimentin

Abstract

Background: To study the role of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by E- cadherin and vimentin expression in precancerous and cancerous lesions of oral cavity and oropharynx and to predict invasiveness by the specific pattern of E-cadherin and vimentin expression.

Methods: Biopsies/ specimens of oral cavity and oropharynx were evaluated for all premalignant lesions and invasive epithelial squamous lesions, by haematoxylin and eosin sections and by immunohistochemical expression of E-cadherin and vimentin, wherever. Patients follow up and therapy related changes were also studied during the period of study.

Results: E-cadherin staining showed 6/10 (60%) cases of  well differentiated carcinoma with 4+ degree of expression while 0/10 case of poorly differentiated carcinoma showed 4+ and only a single case showed 3+ degree of expression with 8/10 (80%) cases of well differentiated carcinoma depicting strong staining intensity of E-cadherin.  6/10(60%) cases of well differentiated oral squamous cell  carcinoma showed 1+ degree of expression of vimentin  while 6/10(60%) cases of poorly differentiated carcinoma showed 4+ degree of expression. 1(1.6%) case of positive lymph node metastasis showed strong positive staining for E-cadherin and 4 (66.6%) cases showed absent staining pattern of E-cadherin.   The differences in the immunoreactivities were statistically significant between CIS and mi-croinvasive or invasive carcinomas (p<0.001) in our study.

Conclusions:Invasiveness and recurrence can be analysed by the use of immunohistochemical stains of E-cadherin and vimentin, which can help in predicting the tumor behaviour, prognosis, survival and management of the patient. Also, these biomolecules can be used as biomarkers for further research on the micro-invasion of the tumor for early diagnosis and survival of the patients.

 

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Published

07-02-2016

How to Cite

1.
Akhtar K, Ara A, Siddiqui S, Sherwani R. Diagnostic and Prognostic Significance of E-Cadherin and Vimentin in Oral Cancer Metastasis. Ann of Pathol and Lab Med [Internet]. 2016 Feb. 7 [cited 2024 Dec. 26];3(1):A8-13. Available from: https://pacificejournals.com/journal/index.php/apalm/article/view/apalm267

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