Vimentin 3 as a new potential biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinomas

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common type of oral cancer and has a high mortality rate due to the lack of reliable prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Vimentin 3 (VIM3), a variant of vimentin, is an intermediate filament protein with a unique C-terminal domain. It plays a key role in the cytoskeleton and has been suggested as a differential marker in kidney tumors and genitourinary diseases. This study sought to evaluate the prognostic significance of VIM3 expression in oral SCC.

This retrospective study included 75 cases of oral SCC diagnosed between 2018 and 2023. Immunohistochemical staining for VIM3 was performed on paraffin-embedded tumor tissue blocks. The relationship between VIM3 expression and clinicopathological parameters including age, sex, smoking status, tumor size, location, differentiation, lymphovascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, and pathological stage was analyzed.

VIM3 expression showed a significant association with tumor differentiation and smoking status. Poorly differentiated tumors had the highest levels of VIM3 expression, indicating a strong link between increased VIM3 and loss of differentiation. Additionally, active smokers exhibited significantly higher VIM3 expression compared to non-smokers.

These findings suggest that VIM3 expression correlates with tumor aggressiveness and may serve as a prognostic biomarker in oral SCC. The association with smoking status highlights its potential role in tumor biology influenced by tobacco exposure.