Immunoprofile of some surface and cytoplasmic peripheral cell adhesion molecules in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Despite the recent advances in diagnosis and treatment, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) continues to have a low overall survival rate (around 50%), being a tumor with high locoregional aggressiveness and high risk of lymph node (LN) dissemination. Such behavior can also be explained by the alteration of the expression of adhesion molecules, allowing tumor cells to invade surrounding tissues and make them capable of metastasizing. In this regard, we initiated a study on the immunohistochemical expression of Integrin alphavbeta6 (Integrin αvβ6), CD44 and Ezrin in OSCCs. A number of 39 such tumors with various locations in the oral cavity were investigated by enzymatic immunohistochemistry together with several samples of oral mucosa and oral dysplastic lesions. Using integrated optical density (IOD) as a method to quantify, we observed that the reactivity of these three markers decreased in the progression of dysplastic lesions and in the transition from well to moderately and poorly differentiated tumors. Also, in both conditions we noticed a shift of pattern reactivity from the continuous membrane to discontinuous membrane and cytoplasmic one, even to a nuclear pattern. In addition, the reactivity of the three markers was more evident in the invasion front and especially in these tumors with discohesive growth patterns. All this suggests the involvement of these adhesion molecules in the processes of transformation and malignant progression of OSCCs. It also explains their possible involvement in locoregional aggressiveness and LN dissemination.