CD44 and CD74; Novel targets in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Introduction:Considering molecular target therapy concept in treatment of OSCC, many attempts havebeen performed to introduce an effective molecular marker during recent years. Severalinvestigations have emphasized on the role of CD44 in various cancers and few studies havementioned to CD24 and CD74. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationshipbetween CD44, CD24 and CD74 expressions and several clinical or histopathological factorsin OSCC patients.Materials and Methods:Forty primary OSCC specimens, consisting of 17 tongue and 23 oral cavity SCC, with noprior chemoradiotherapy were immunohistochemically stained for CD44, CD24 and CD74proteins. Then, the relationship between their expressions and age, sex, lymph nodemetastasis, histopathologic grading were statistically analyzed.Results:CD44 and CD74 proteins was significantly overexpressed in OSCC patients with high gradeas compared to those with low grade. Also, CD44 immunoreactivity showed significantlyhigher expression in patients with lower age. Considering lymph node metastasis, weobserved significant overexpression of CD74 in OSCC patients with no lymph nodeinvolvement.Conclusion:Our observation supports a significant role of membranous CD44 protein in progression ofOSCC and also introduce CD74 protein as a probable interfering factor in different aspects ofOSCC.