Comparison of Bcl2 Expression in Patients with Verrucous Carcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Relationship with Degree of Pathologic Differentiation

Background and Objective: 90% of oral cancer cases include squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Verrucous carcinoma (VC) is a rare kind of SCC that has a clinicopathologic difference with SCC. B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) is an anti-apoptotic protein that is an important marker for many malignancies. The aim of this study was to compare the expression of Bcl-2 protein in patients with VC and SCC and its relationship with degree of pathologic differentiation.Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted between 2016 to 2018 in Isfahan. 48 paraffin block samples including 10 samples of poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (PDSCC), 14 samples of well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (WDSCC), 10 samples of VC and 10 samples of normal oral mucosa, were stained using immunohistochemistry method. The samples were evaluated by two distinct pathologists for expression of Bcl-2 protein. Expression of less than 5%, 6-25%, 26-50%, 51-75% and more than 76% was considered as negative expression, 1+, 2+, 3+ and 4+ respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software with one-way ANOVA and Chi-square tests. P <0.05 was considered as significant level.Results: In this study, the expression of Bcl-2 protein was negative in the WDSCC, VC and also healthy individuals. The mean of Bcl-2 protein in PDSCC was significantly higher than the other three groups (P<0.05). Also, there was no significant differences between VC and PDSCC about expression of Bcl2 protein (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Taking together, it seems that with the increase in the degree of malignancy of SCC, the expression of Bcl2 increases as antiepoptotic marker.

کلیدواژه ها:

Oral squamous cell carcinoma ، Bcl-2 ، Immunohistochemistry