p53 and p21WAF1/CIP1 overexpression at the invasive front of lower lip squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Lower lip squamous cell carcinoma (LLSCC) is an oral cancer that has distinct epidemiology and etiopathogenesis. Although risk factors for this neoplasia are acknowledged, few studies have investigated the molecular basis of its development and behavior. METHODS: Expression of p53 and p21(WAF1/CIP1) was examined by immunohistochemistry of archived tissue from 21 specimens of LLSCC. Differences in this expression between the whole tumor (WT) and the invasive front (IF) as well as correlation between p53 and p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression were analyzed. RESULTS: p53 and p21(WAF1/CIP1) were overexpressed at the IF of LLSCC. The expression of both proteins was higher at IF than at WT. No correlation was observed between p53 and p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that p53 and p21(WAF1/CIP1) overexpression is important in LLSCC pathogenesis, reinforce that IF is the most important area for tumor behavior, and support that p53-independent mechanisms should be involved in the expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1).     

Cyclin D1 expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas: clinicopathological relevance and correlation with p53 expression

The aim of the present study is to study the relationship between cyclin D1 and the clinicopathological features of oral squamous cell carcinomas. The cyclin D1 and p53 expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas from 56 patients (45 men, 11 women) was studied by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies. The correlation between cyclin D1 and the clinicopathological features of the oral cancers was evaluated. Cyclin D1 expression was found in 63% of oral squamous cell carcinomas; it was often weak but was more frequently positive in high-grade lesions (P=0.019). The expression was positively correlated with p53 expression (P= 0.06). Radiation therapy did not alter the expression of either cyclin D1 or p53 proteins. Expression of these proteins was not related to the age, gender or survival of the patients, or to stages of the tumors. The cyclin D1 expression was more frequently seen in patients with squamous cell carcinomas of oropharynx, palate, floor of mouth and gingiva. To conclude, cyclin D1 was frequently expressed in oral squamous cell carcinomas. This expression was related to the grade of the tumors and was not similar in various regions in the oral cavity, which may indicate the different tumor biology of cancers from these regions.     

Prognostic role of p21WAF1 expression in areca quid chewing and smoking-associated oral squamous cell carcinoma in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Alterations in p21WAF1 protein expression have been observed in a wide variety of human cancers by immunohistochemistry, and both decreased and increased levels of p21WAF1 protein expression have been shown to correlate with poor prognosis. METHOD: To examine the relation between p21WAF1 protein expression and prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), we performed an immunohistochemical study with antip21WAF1 antibody on 43 oral SCCs. Immunostaining results were then correlated with p53 protein levels, clinicopathological parameters of the tumors and overall patient survival. RESULTS: Of the 43 patients, 31 (72%) had tumors with positive p21WAF1 nuclear staining and 27 (63%) had tumors with p53 nuclear staining. There was no significant correlation between p21WAF1 and p53 protein expressions and both mutant p53-containing oral SCCs overexpressed p21WAF1 protein. In addition, no significant correlation was found between the p21WAF1 expression and the patients' age, sex, oral habit, cancer location, or primary tumor TNM status at the time of initial presentation. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant correlation between p21WAF1 protein overexpression and poor patient overall survival (P = 0.049). When p53 and p21WAF1 were evaluated together, the 5-year overall survival was lowest in p53(+)-p21WAF1(+) patients and highest in p53(-)-p21WAF1(-) patients (P = 0.057). CONCLUSION: Combined evaluation of p21WAF1 and p53 expressions may be useful in estimating the prognosis of patients with oral SCCs in Taiwan.     

Association of aberrant p53 and p21WAF1 immunoreactivity with the outcome of oral verrucous leukoplakia in Taiwan

The expression of p53 and p21WAF1 in 53 oral verrucous leukoplakias (OVLs), mostly non-dysplastic lesions, was investigated to ascertain the role of such events in malignant conversion. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed aberrant p53 and p21WAF1 immunoreactivity in 51% (27 cases) and 75% (40 cases), respectively. After an average follow-up period of three and a half years, histopathological examination revealed that 22 (42%) cases had developed oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), 14 (26%) cases had undergone recurrence, and 17 (32%) cases were free of disease. The oncogenic potential of this subset of premalignant lesions warrants attention. A significant difference in the frequency of OSCC progression/recurrence was noted in lesions bearing aberrant immunoreactivity of either p53 (93% vs 42%; P=0.00008) or p21WAF1 (80% vs 32%; P=0.002) in comparison with lesions without immunoreactivity. This study suggested that the aberrant immunoreactivity of p53 and p21WAF1 may represent important alterations of OVL and could affect the outcome of this lesion.     

Evaluation of immunohistochemical expression of p53, p21, p27, cyclin D1, and Ki67 in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

J Oral Pathol Med (2012) 41 : 40–46 Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the immunohistochemical expression of p53, p21, p27, cyclin D1, and Ki67 can predict therapy response and survival in patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated with preoperative chemoradiation. Methods: Biomarker expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded pretreatment biopsies of 111 homogenously treated patients. We assessed the association between clinicopathological variables including response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy as well as the survival of the patients and the expression of the biomarkers as both dichotomized (positive vs. negative) and continuous variables. Results: Biomarker overexpression on the basis of pre‐selected cutoff points was seen in 66 of 111 (59%) cases for p53, in 77 (69%) for p21, in 48 (43%) for p27, in 81 (73%) for cyclin D1, and in 54 (49%) cases for Ki67, respectively. None of the examined biomarkers was able to predict response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy or was associated with survival outcome. Post‐treatment pathologic TNM stage (P < 0.001), pathologic response (P < 0.001), and perineural invasion (P < 0.001) were the only factors having a significant effect on recurrence‐free survival. Post‐treatment pathologic N stage (P = 0.005), post‐treatment pathologic TNM stage (P < 0.001), pathologic response (P < 0.001), and perineural invasion (P = 0.001) had a significant impact on overall survival. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the biomarkers p53, p21, p27, cyclin D1, and Ki67 have no impact on treatment response and survival in patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiation.     

Combined cytoplasmic and membranous EGFR and p53 overexpression is a poor prognostic marker in early stage oral squamous cell carcinoma

J Oral Pathol Med (2012) 41 : 559–567 Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the expression of several molecules that regulate growth, the cell cycle and signalling pathways including EGFR, p53, p16 and p27 in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). We examined their utility as prognostic markers by relating to clinicopathological characteristics and the clinical outcome. Patients and methods: Using tissue microarray technology, we analysed 67 primary OSCC and examined immunohistochemical expression of EGFR, p53, p16 and p27. Multivariate analysis was conducted to examine their role in survival. Results: Many of the markers were highly expressed in these cancers. Membranous EGFR expression in 95.2%, both membrane and cytoplasm expression in 35%, p53 expression in 61.6%, p27 expression in 89.5% and p16 expression in 27.9% of cases. In the multivariate analysis, independent prognostic influence of a lower overall survival was determined only for advanced tumour stage (P < 0.001), p53 overexpression (P = 0.004), EGFR cytoplasm and membrane co‐expression location (P = 0.002) and p16 reduced expression (P = 0.002). When considering a subgroup of early stage tumours, p53 overexpression (P = 0.028) and combined membranous and cytoplasm EGFR co‐expression (P = 0.039) were indicators of a lower overall survival. For disease‐free survival, in addition to these three factors, the histological grade (P = 0.011) showed independent prognostic values. Conclusion: The independent value of EGFR subcellular location (cytoplasm and membrane) and p53 overexpression in overall survival even in early stages of OSCC suggests that these markers may serve as reliable biological markers to identify high‐risk subgroups and to guide therapy.     

G1 cyclins in oral epithelial dysplasia

The G1 cyclins, D1, D3 and E, were investigated in 38 lesions of oral epithelial dysplasia from the floor of the mouth or the lateral border of the tongue. Their immunohistochemical expression was observed and compared with that of Ki-67 and with the degree of dysplasia assessed by the semiobjective technique of Smith & Pindborg. Antibody labelled cells were quantified and expressed as a percentage (LI%) of the total nucleated cell population and per mm basement membrane length (LI/mm). The labelling indices of all of the antibodies were high and quantitatively similar. There were no significant correlations with the degree of dysplasia assessed by the atypia scores. There was a correlation between labelling indices for the various antibodies expressed as LI/mm but little correlation between the indices expressed as LI%. The distribution of the D cyclins was similar to that of Ki-67 with relatively few of the basal cells demonstrating immunoreactivity. The reasons for this are discussed in the paper. Some cross-reactivity was observed with the cyclin antibodies. We conclude that the antibodies against the cyclins used in the present study are not a useful adjunct in the study of the cell kinetics of oral epithelial dysplasia.     

p53, PCNA and Ki-67 expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas: the vagaries of fixation and microwave enhancement of immunocytochemistry

Proliferation markers are widely used as indicators of tumour progression and aggression. Fixation and antigen retrieval methods may enhance the immunocytochemical sensitivity of these markers but may also lead to loss of specificity. As these methods are often used quantitatively, standardisation of internal and external methodology is paramount. This study aimed to compare the effects of alcohol and formalin fixation and of microwaving on the immunocytochemical demonstration of p53, PCNA and Ki-67 in oral squamous cell carcinoma using duplicate tissue blocks from 24 cases. Both qualitative and quantitative differences in antigen expression were revealed. Whilst alcohol fixation alone at least maintained and usually increased the strength of positive staining, microwaving alcohol-fixed sections often gave rise to non-specific staining. p53 staining following microwave enhancement of alcohol-fixed tissue showed a significant incidence of conversion of negative results to positive and of positive staining in unexpected tissue components. Alcohol fixation increased the sensitivity of PCNA detection with a far less dramatic loss of specificity. The results emphasise the need for careful standardisation of immunocytochemical methods, particularly when used quantitatively and for inter-laboratory comparisons.     

Expression of cyclin D1 is correlated with poor prognosis in patients with areaca quid chewing-related oral squamous cell carcinomas in Tiwan

Abnormal expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins, particularly cyclin D1, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several types of cancer. We have examined the expression of cyclin D1 in histological sections of oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) using anti-cyclin D1 antibodies with an immunoperoxidase technique. Cyclin D1 nuclear staining was observed in 73 of 88 (83%) cases of oral SCC. In 54 of these 73 (74%) cases, positive cyclin D1 staining was also found in the normal appearing epithelium immediately adjacent to the cyclin D1-positive SCCs. No significant correlation was found between the expression of cyclin D1 and the patients' age, sex, oral habits, cancer location and STNM status. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with tumors containing more than 10% cyclin D1-positive cells had significantly shorter overall survival than those with tumors containing less than 10% cyclin D1-positive cells or with cyclin D1-negative tumors (P<0.05). Patients with positive lymph node status also had significantly shorter overall survival (P<0.01). These results indicate that cyclin D1 may play an important role in the genesis of oral SCC and may serve as an adjuvant marker of worse prognosis in patients with oral SCCs in Taiwan.     

口腔鳞癌组织中Ki-67和p53蛋白的表达

目的 探讨口腔鳞癌组织中Ki-67和p53蛋白的表达及其与临床病理特征的关系。方法采用免疫组织化学S-P法对10例正常口腔黏膜组织、16例口腔白斑（OLK）组织、48例口腔鳞癌（OSCC）组织中的Ki-67和p53蛋白表达进行检测,结合患者临床病理资料进行分析,使用SPSS17.0 软件包对数据进行统计学处理。结果Ki-67蛋白在正常口腔黏膜组织、口腔白斑和口腔鳞癌组织中的阳性表达率分别为30.0%、56.3%和79.2%;p53的阳性表达率分别为0.0%、43.8%和70.8%,Ki-67和p53在正常黏膜组与口腔白斑和口腔鳞癌组差异均具有显著性（P<0.05）;Ki67蛋白在口腔鳞癌组织中的表达与肿瘤的临床分期、分化程度、有无淋巴结转移有关（P<0.05）,p53蛋白的表达与肿瘤的分化程度有关(P<0.05);Ki-67和p53蛋白在口腔鳞癌组织中的表达呈正相关（P<0.05）。结论Ki-67和p53蛋白在口腔鳞癌组织中高表达,可能在口腔鳞癌的发生、发展过程中起着重要作用。     

Expression of p53 in oral mucosal hyperplasia, dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To assess p53 expression in a range of oral mucosal lesions and to relate the results to the clinical outcome in patients with dysplastic oral mucosal lesions and oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Archival tissue was available for eight cases of normal oral mucosa, 50 cases of oral mucosal hyperplasia, 41 cases of oral mucosal dysplasia and 48 cases of OSCC. The monoclonal antibody DO-7, reactive to p53 protein, was applied to paraffin-embedded sections using microwave pretreatment and immu-nohistochemical techniques.
RESULTS: The results showed that normal oral mucosa did not express p53.Positive nuclear staining was found in 18/50 (36%) cases of hyperplasia, 35/41 (85%) cases of dysplasia and 45/48 (94%) cases of OSCC.None of the p53 negative dysplasias progressed, while 19% of p53 positive cases of dysplasia recurred following excision and 11% of the cases underwent neoplastic transformation. Five out of 10 (50%) cases of severe dysplasia which were p53 positive resolved.
CONCLUSION: The proportion of cases with positive p53 expression increased from hyperplasia to dysplasia to OSCC. These results may indicate an involvement of p53 in neoplastic transformation as well as in proliferative events although the presence or absence of p53 staining could not be used to predict the outcome of potentially malignant oral mucosal lesions.     

Prognostic impact of p53 and p63 immunoexpression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The role of p53 and p63 proteins in the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still debatable. Our aim here was to investigate the relationship between the immunoexpression of these proteins with some clinicopathologic parameters of prognostic significance in OSCC. METHODS: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections from 106 patients were used for study together with the following data: primary site, histologic differentiation, recurrences, metastasis, disease-free survival and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: In OSCCs, the positive rate for p63 protein immunoexpression (87.8%) was higher than p53 (52.8%). p53 expression correlated with metastasis. Tumors negative for p53 and with strong intensity for p63 expression had a significantly higher OS. CONCLUSIONS: p53 overexpression is associated with a larger number of metastases and is correlated with a poor outcome as well as decreased intensity in p63 immunoexpression.     

The relationship of the histologic grade at the deep invasive front and the expression of Ki-67 antigen and p53 protein in oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Although many histopathologic characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinoma (O-SCC) have been identified as prognostic factors, accurate, and unequivocal factors have not been clearly identified. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a potential association between the histologic grade of malignancy at the deep invasive front and the expression of Ki-67 antigen and p53 protein in O-SCC. METHODS: The expression of Ki-67 antigen and p53 at the invasive tumor front area of O-SCC was examined by immunohistochemistry of archived tissue from 62 cases. The mean age of patients was 60.7 years (range: 37-89) and the male-female ratio was 1.6:1 (38 men, 24 women). There were 20, 17, 14, and 11 cases classified as stage I to stage IV, respectively. The correlation between the intensity of immunostaining for Ki-67 antigen and p53 and the histologic grade of malignancy at the deep invasive front (invasive front grade, IFG) was analyzed. The expression of Ki-67 antigen and p53 in normal oral epithelia (10 cases) was also investigated. RESULTS: The mean Ki-67 labeling index (LI) in the O-SCC samples was 32.8 +/- 12.0% (n = 62). The mean total score of IFG (IFG score) was 9.1 +/- 2.7 points (n = 62). There was a significant linear correlation between the IFG score and the Ki-67 antigen (gamma = 0.651, R2 = 0.596, P < 0.0001). Of 50 tumors examined, 27 (54.0%) exhibited p53-positive nuclear immunostaining. The staining patterns for Ki-67 antigen and p53 were similar. Both Ki-67-LI and p53-positive status were significantly correlated with the IFG scores. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrate that overexpression of Ki-67 antigen and p53 at the deep tumor invasive front of O-SCC is associated with histologic grade of malignancy.     

细胞周期蛋白cyclin D1、CDK4在口腔鳞状细胞癌中的表达及其意义

目的：分析口腔鳞状细胞癌细胞周期蛋白cyclin D1、CDK4的表达与临床病理资料及预后的关系。方法：回顾性研究50例口腔鳞状细胞癌及10例正常口腔粘膜cyclin D1和CDK4的表达情况，采用SABC法根据染色指标计数，并利用Cox比例风险模型进行生存多因素分析。结果：cyclin D1和CDK4在正常口腔粘膜上皮呈现低水平表达，在口腔鳞状细胞癌组织中过表达。单因素生存分析表明cyclin D1的表达与生存期显著相关，多因素Cox回归分析表明cyclin D1的表达可作为口腔鳞状细胞癌辅助性的预后指标，cyclin D1与CDK4的表达呈负相关。结论：cyclin D1和CDK4的过表达与口腔鳞状细胞癌的发生发展有密切关系，其中cyclin D1与肿瘤的预后密切相关，可作为辅助性的预后指标。     

核转录因子-κB／p65在口腔鳞癌患者中的表达研究

目的通过对NF—κB／p65在口腔鳞癌中表达进行研究,初步探讨它们在口腔鳞癌中的作用,为临床治疗提供一种新的思路。方法无菌提取口腔癌患者及其对照外周血单核细胞,利用实时定量PcR检测p65的基因表达,通过Western blot检测单核细胞中的p65的磷酸化水平,并通过免疫组化技术检测癌组织中的p65的表达水平的差异。结果口腔癌患者外周单核细胞p65的基因表达明显增加,p65磷酸化水平也明显增强。口腔癌组织中p65的磷酸化水平较正常组织明显明显增加。结论核转录因子-κB／p65在口腔癌的发生发展过程中被大量表达并大量被激活,可能在其侵袭和转移中发挥重要作用,以此将为口腔癌的发病机理及治疗提供分子生物学基础。     

p16和p53蛋白在口腔白斑和鳞状细胞癌中表达的比较研究

目的比较p16和p53在口腔白斑和口腔鳞状细胞癌中异常表达的情况。方法对17例健康者的口腔粘膜、60例白斑患者和40例口腔鳞状细胞癌患者的病损组织进行了p16和p53蛋白的免疫组化染色。结果正常口腔粘膜、白斑单纯增生、白斑异常增生和口腔鳞状细胞癌的p16阳性率分别为100％、90％、60％和35％，p53蛋白的阳性率分别为12％、27％、50％和73％，p16阳性率和细胞染色强度指数（stainning intensity index，SII）分别与口腔粘膜组织恶性度的增高显著负相关；p53阳性率和S11分别与口腔粘膜组织恶性度的增高显著正相关。p16和p53在不同组织中的阳性率显著负相关；p16和p53在白斑异常增生的协同失活率达23％，在口腔鳞状细胞癌中达到42．5％。p16阳性率、p16SII、p53SII及两种基因均异常的比率在口腔鳞状细胞癌无淋巴结转移和口腔鳞状细胞癌有淋巴结转移患者之间均有显著差异。结论p16可作为早期监视口腔白斑恶变、监测口腔鳞状细胞癌发展进程和判断口腔鳞状细胞癌预后的分子生物学指标。p16和p53失活在白斑癌变和口腔鳞状细胞癌的发展过程中可能有叠加效应。     

口腔鳞癌中p16/CDK4/cyclinD1/pRb通路的表达及其意义

目的分析口腔黏膜鳞状细胞癌(OSCC)中pRb、CDK4c、yclinD1、p16INK4a等细胞周期调控因子的表达状况和相互间的联系及其临床意义。方法采用免疫组化SP法,研究47例OSCC及10例正常口腔黏膜中pRb、CDK4c、yclinD1和p16INK4a的表达情况,并结合随访资料进行相关性分析。结果47例OSCC中,pRb、CDK4、cyclinD1和p16INK4a阳性表达率分别为55%、60%、74%和38%,与正常口腔黏膜中的表达有显著差异(P<0.05)。cyclinD1的表达和淋巴结转移有密切关系(P<0.05),p16和pRb呈负相关(r=-0.312)。结论p16/Rb通路蛋白的异常表达和OSCC的发生有密切的关系;cyclinD1可作为OSCC预后的辅助性指标之一。