EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF ANGIOGENESIS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF ORAL CANCER

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the microvascular density (MVD) associated to the progression of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) towards oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) using immunostaining with alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Study Design Eighty cases of OED were selected, in which 41 were low-risk epithelial dysplasia (LRED), and 39 were high-risk epithelial dysplasia (HRED). The group of non-neoplastic epithelium (NNE) consisted of 34 cases of inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia, while the group of neoplastic epithelium contained 36 cases of OSCC. All cases were submitted to immunohistochemical reaction with anti-α-SMA antibody. The MVD in the connective tissue was determined by the average number of immunostained vessels. Results The MVD values for the NNE group (14.07±4.79) were statistically lower (Kruskal-Wallis/Dunn´s Test, P≤0.05) than for OED (18.67±8.25) and OSCC (29.78±23.08) cases. No statistical difference was observed between HRED and LRED cases (Mann-Whitney Test). Conclusion The increase in MVD present in malignant and pre-malignant lesions suggests a possible role of angiogenesis in the progression of these lesions. To evaluate the microvascular density (MVD) associated to the progression of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) towards oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) using immunostaining with alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Eighty cases of OED were selected, in which 41 were low-risk epithelial dysplasia (LRED), and 39 were high-risk epithelial dysplasia (HRED). The group of non-neoplastic epithelium (NNE) consisted of 34 cases of inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia, while the group of neoplastic epithelium contained 36 cases of OSCC. All cases were submitted to immunohistochemical reaction with anti-α-SMA antibody. The MVD in the connective tissue was determined by the average number of immunostained vessels. The MVD values for the NNE group (14.07±4.79) were statistically lower (Kruskal-Wallis/Dunn´s Test, P≤0.05) than for OED (18.67±8.25) and OSCC (29.78±23.08) cases. No statistical difference was observed between HRED and LRED cases (Mann-Whitney Test). The increase in MVD present in malignant and pre-malignant lesions suggests a possible role of angiogenesis in the progression of these lesions.