Discerning the vascular transition in oral cancer: Comparative study of CD105 expression in normal, premalignant and...

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which accounts for over 90% of oral malignancies in India, presents a significant public health concern due to its high incidence and mortality. Angiogenesis is a critical component of tumour progression and metastasis, and cluster of differentiation 105 (CD105) (Endoglin)-a transmembrane glycoprotein expressed on activated endothelial cells-is considered a more specific marker of tumour neoangiogenesis than conventional pan-endothelial markers (e.g. CD34 and CD31).

To assess and compare CD105-based microvessel density (MVD) in normal oral mucosa, oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and OSCC samples, evaluating endoglin potential as a specific neoangiogenesis marker for early detection and prognostic assessment in oral carcinogenesis.

Archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 45 cases (15 OSCC, 15 OPMDs and 15 normal mucosa) were subjected to anti-CD105 immunohistochemical staining. MVD was quantified using the hot-spot method under high-power magnification across five fields per sample. Statistical comparisons among groups were performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post hoc Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) testing.

A progressive and statistically significant increase in mean microvessel density was observed: normal mucosa (23.07 ± 10.61), OPMDs (36.07 ± 15.92) and reaching the highest level in OSCC (69.23 ± 17.63). All intergroup differences were highly significant (P = 0.0001; pairwise comparisons P < 0.001).

These findings underscore endoglin's value as a sensitive immunohistochemical marker for detecting neoangiogenesis. Its progressive increase in MVD from normal through potentially malignant tissue to carcinoma highlights its potential role in early detection and prognostic evaluation of oral carcinogenic progression.