EXPRESSION OF THE CANCER STEM CELL MARKER ALDH1 IS INCREASED IN THE BUDDING AREA OF ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the expression of the cancer stem cell marker ALDH1 and its association with tumor budding, a morphological marker of cancer invasion, in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Findings 163 OSCC samples were obtained by incisional biopsies. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect positive cells for ALDH1 (cancer stem cell marker) and for AE1/AE3 (multi-cytokeratin to identify OSCC cells in tumor budding evaluation). A positive expression of ALDH1 was observed in 47.24% of the samples. In the tumor budding evaluation, samples were classified as low-or high-intensity tumor budding. Association between the ALDH1 expression and tumor budding was assessed using the chi-square test. However, no association was observed (p>0.05). In samples with high-intensity tumor budding, differences in the ALDH1 expression between the budding area and the area outside the budding were evaluated using the McNemar test. The ALDH1 expression was higher in the budding area than in the area outside the budding (p Conclusion The findings reinforce the idea that cells at the tumor budding area show phenotypic characteristics of cancer stem cells. The debate concerning the model of oral carcinogenesis by cancer stem cells was also strengthen. Supported by FAPEMIG (APQ-01806/14 and PPM-00653-16).