P53 immunoexpression in oral squamous cell carcinomas from different anatomical sites: a comparative study

Background and Objectives: Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common intraoral malignancy. Despite intense research in the area of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN), its 5-year survival rate remains low. p53 alterations have been implicated in oral carcinogenesis process. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) lesions mostly occur at the tongue, followed by floor of the mouth, alveolar ridge/ gingiva, buccal mucosa, labial mucosa and hard palate. This study was undertaken to analyze the p53 immunoexpression in OSCC at different sites. Methods: This study was conducted on samples collected from patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who visited Rajarajeswari Dental College & Hospital, Mysore Road, Bangalore. Tissue sections were subjected to Immunohistochemistry using p53 marker and cells were counted in three different histological fields. The obtained data was subjected to Anova test. Results: On performing Anova test between different sites of oral cavity to know the immunoexpression of p53 we got a p value of 0.270 which was not statistically significant. Interpretation & Conclusion: Further investigations are required to elucidate the specific mechanisms involving tongue cancer as p53 did not appear to have influence in the higher frequency and more aggressiveness of the disease in this site particularly.