OP - COMPARATIVE STUDY OF P16, BUB3, SOX4 AND KI67 EXPRESSION IN ORAL LICHEN PLANUS (OLP), AND OTHER LESIONS

Abstract

The World Health Organization classified oral lichen planus (OLP) as a precancerous condition in 1978. Nevertheless, it has been stated that malignant transformation of OLP lesion has not been sufficiently documented. The expression of proteins related to cell regulation, proliferation and apoptosis, such as P16, BUB3, SOX4 AND KI67 are essential for carcinogenesis. Thus, this study aimed to verify the malignant potential of OLP by comparing positive index levels of P16, BUB3, SOX4 and Ki67 expression among OLP, cutaneous lichen planus (CLP), oral dysplasia (OD), and oral fibrous hyperplasia (OFH). A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate a total of 120 formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks of OLP, CLP, OD and OFH. The highest positive index of P16 (86.59) was found in CLP, followed by that in OLP (20.65), OFH (11.8) and OD (7.85) (p <0.001). Positive index for BUB3 was also higher in CLP (83.2) followed by that in OLP (80) (p = 0.04). The highest SOX4 index was found in CLP (86.8) (p < 0.001). Ki67 was higher in OD (14.4) followed by OLP (11.6) (P < 0.001). Taken together, these results suggest that OLP has an intermediate malignant potential.