Relationship between tumor thickness and GATA3 immunoexpression in lip and tongue squamous cell carcinomas.

Abstract

Lower lip squamous cell carcinomas (LLSCCs) exhibit lower levels of aggressiveness, low relations with metastases and better prognosis when compared with intraoral squamous cell carcinomas. Differently from the oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCCs) have a high tendency towards local invasion and lymph nodal dissemination. Our aim was to evaluate tumor thickness in cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma and correlate it with histological grade of malignancy and GATA3 immunoreactivity. Sixty specimens (30 LLSCCs and 30 OTSCCs) were scanned and digitized for the subsequent measurement of tumor thickness, histopathological examination, and quantitative analysis of GATA3 in the parenchyma and stroma of the tumors. Tumor thickness was lower in LLSCC compared to OTSCCs. Immunohistochemical analysis of GATA3 in parenchyma, stroma and both compartments showed higher immunoreactivity in LLSCCs compared to OTSCCs. We observed a negative correlation between tumor thickness and GATA3 expression in parenchyma, stroma, and both compartments. Our results revealed the presence of GATA3 in all cases both in the parenchyma and in the stroma. Higher expression was more related to LLSCCs, which are known to be less aggressive tumors than OTSCCs. A greater tumor thickness was found in OTSCCs, which was correlated with lower expression of GATA3, suggesting that this protein is involved in the inhibition of proliferative, migratory, and invasive capacity.