ABSTRACT
Oral carcinoma is among the most common cancers and one of the top-10 causes of death worldwide. Oral squamous cell carcinoma [OSCC] has the highest incidence and the lowest survival rate among oral cancer cases. The study of OSCC epidemiology, incidence rate, and its association with age and gender among the patients could provide the oral and maxillofacial specialists as well as health officials and policy workers with valuable information. Analysis of OSCC incidence rate and its association with sex and age among the oral cancer patients in the Guilan province during the 1378-87 period. This descriptive and prospective study was done by reviewing 12686 files of the cancer patients recorded by the Guilan Cancer Registry Center during 1377-87. Medical information including age, gender, the type of cancer, and anatomical location of the tumor were extracted from the patients' records. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and chi-square test and Kruskal-Wallis. Among the total number of files studied, 2364 [18.6%] were diagnosed as head and neck carcinoma cases, of which 1152 [48.7%] were recorded as SCC, with a male to female ratio of 1.7:1 and a mean age of 63.41 +/- 15.41 years.The most involved areas were tongue with 35.2% cases and buccal region with 24.4% cases. The 70-80 year age group had the largest number of 37patients [28%] with OSCC. Our results show that the incidence of OSCC is significantly higher in the 8th decade of life. We also found that the most common risk site of the tumor in young patients is the tongue
ABSTRACT
E-Cadherin is a cell-cell adhesion molecule involved in tumor progression and metastasis. We evaluated the E Cadherin expression pattern in oral SCC and investigated its relationship to histopathological features. The expression of E-Cadherin was evaluated in 43 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of oral SCC by immunohistochemistry. In normal squamous epithelium, E-Cadherin was expressed uniformly at the cell membrane. Abnormal E-Cadherin expression with loss of membranous localization was found in 62.8% cancer specimens. We used a scoring system for semi quantitative comparison of results. Altered E-Cadherin expression was found more often in higher grades than in lower grades [p=0.000] There was not any significant correlation between E-cadherin expression and muscular invasion [P>0.1]. There was not significant correlation between sex and E-cadherin expression. Abnormal expression of E-Cadherin occurs frequently in oral squamous cell carcinoma and correlates with dedifferentiation of tumors. Moreover, E-Cadherin expression is not associated with muscular invasion. We concluded that loss of normal E-Cadherin expression might serve as a differentiation marker in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Short running title: E-Cadherin Expression in Oral SCC