Comparative immunohistochemical expression of transforming growth factor beta one (TGF-β1) in oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an ulceroproliferative lesion that can affect the oral mucosa, from the lips to the oropharynx. OSCC is initiated in part by precancerous disorders of the oral mucosa, particularly those associated with moderate to severe dysplasia. It is well known that, depending on the stage of carcinogenesis, transforming growth factor beta one (TGF-β1) can act as a tumour supporter or controller. The expression of TGF-β1 has been linked to the pathophysiology of numerous illnesses, such as fibrosis and cancer. High-risk metastasis to lymph nodes (cervical) and elevated risk of local invasiveness are the main features of OSCC. The present study aims to examine and compare the immuno-expression of TGF-β1 in oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and OSCC.

To analyze and compare the IHC expression of TGF-β1 in OED and OSCC.

The current study was performed after approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee of VMSDC, Salem. The study sample size was determined to be 40, comprising archival blocks: 10 histopathologically confirmed cases of OED, and 30 histopathologically confirmed cases of various grades of OSCC.

The expression of TGF-β1-labelled cells was higher in well-differentiated (Grade 1) OSCC followed by moderately differentiated (Grade 2) and poorly differentiated (Grade 3) OSCC, on comparing TGF-β1 expression and the total percentage of staining intensity between OSCC and OED. OSCC showed the highest expression and the staining intensity of TGF-β1. One-way ANOVA, Chi-square test, and independent t-test were among the statistical tests employed. The quantity of positive tumour cells and the staining intensity were noted. Arithmetic means and standard deviations were calculated for multiple values. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) allowed for a correlation of the outcomes regarding immunoreactivity (total score). A P value that was greater than 0.05 was considered non-significant. For the comparison of TGF-β1 expression between the groups, an independent t-test was used.

The current study aimed to examine the expression of TGF-β1 by IHC between various OSCC grades and OED. TGF-β1 immunoexpression was seen to be increasing from OED to OSCC and was highest in well-differentiated tumours. Although the differences between OSCC grades were not statistically significant (P > 0.05), the overall higher expression in OSCC supports a potential role of TGF-β1 in tumour differentiation, angiogenesis and progression.