Expression of p120-catenin expression in oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma: An immunohistochemical study

Abstract

Objective: Most oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are preceded by premalignant conditions that demonstrate histopathologically as epithelial dysplasia and their malignant potential of a lesion is mainly determined using various grading systems. Loss of p120 catenin (p120) or its phosphorylation destabilizes E-cadherin; thereby it regulates cadherin stability and turnover which could affect the cell adhesive and migratory capacity. Therefore, p120 is related to invasiveness and progression of various human epithelial many tumor types, including OSCCs. Methodology: The immunoexpression of p120 in 60 selected cases were grouped into; oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) ( n = 40) and OSCC ( n = 20). The cases were assessed by two independent observers. The p120 immunolabeling was analyzed using the parameters intensity, percentage and the location of the epidermal growth factor receptor staining. Results: In OED, there was p120 expression observed in 100% of cases with 62.5% cases showing preserved expression, i.e., >50%, whereas 15% showed reduced/downregulation of p120 catenin levels. Further, a variation within the grades was also observed. The low-risk group of OED showed a preserved expression seen with most of the cases having >50% expression (95%) positivity and in the high-risk cases, there was a marked reduction with 70% of the cases showing reduced expression ( P Conclusion: The presence of strong reactivity was seen in oral dysplasia and most of the well-differentiated OSCC, the infiltrating areas of aggressive OSCC showed decreased and/or total lack of immunostaining. The abnormal staining pattern of p120 can reflect loss/reduction of adhesion and could be used to identify the malignant potential of OED and aggressiveness in OED.