Expression analysis of NOD-like receptor protein 3 and interleukin-18 in basal cell carcinoma: A case-control study

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the expression of the inflammasome-related molecules NOD-like receptor protein 3 and interleukin-18 in basal cell carcinoma tissues and to evaluate their potential as diagnostic biomarkers.MethodsIn this observational case-control study, tumor tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissue samples from 25 patients with basal cell carcinoma were analyzed. We quantified NOD-like receptor protein 3 and interleukin-18 expression at the mRNA and protein levels using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. The diagnostic performance of these molecules was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.ResultsOur results revealed that both NOD-like receptor protein 3 and interleukin-18 were significantly upregulated in basal cell carcinoma tissues compared with adjacent noncancerous tissue samples at the mRNA and protein levels (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated strong diagnostic performance, with an area under the curve of 0.931 for NOD-like receptor protein 3 (95% confidence interval: 0.845-1.00) and 0.860 for interleukin-18 (95% confidence interval: 0.739-0.980).ConclusionsThe marked upregulation of NOD-like receptor protein 3 and interleukin-18 suggests their involvement in the inflammatory tumor microenvironment and positions them as promising candidate biomarkers for basal cell carcinoma detection. Although these findings may suggest their relevance as future therapeutic targets, this role requires substantial validation through functional assays and in larger, more diverse study populations.