Diagnostic and Prognostic Significance of E-cadherin and ?-catenin in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma with or without Lymphnode Metastasis

Background: To study the role of cell adhesion molecules like E-cadherin and ?-catenin expression in oral cancers in predicting tumor invasion and metastasis. The intercellular adhesions loss in epithelial malignancy is an important component of the acquisition of invasive and malignant properties. Material and Methods: All biopsies/ specimens were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin solution. Diagnosis was made on histopathology by using hematoxylin and eosin stains and further typing was done. Immunohistochemistry has been applied to see the expression of E-cadherin and ?-catenin in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Results: In this study, the assessment of E-cadherin and ?-catenin immunohistochemical stained slides were examined for pattern of staining (membranous, cytoplasmic or nuclear), proportion and intensity of staining of the tumor cells. The total score ranges between 0-12. Immunoreactivity was divided into three groups on the basis of final score: a total score of 0 is considered as negative immunoreactivity score, 1-4 score as low immunoreactivity score and >4 as high immunoreactivity score. Conclusion: In the present study, it was found that the reduced expression E-cadherin and ?-catenin is an indicator of a poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.