Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma an Immunohistochemical Analysis of Prognostic Markers

Tongue cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed within the oral cavity. Though oral tongue cancer is generally diagnosed at an early stage, the prognosis is poor due to frequent recurrence. Therefore, it is important to identify factors predictive of recurrence and to treat those patients with a high probability of recurrence with specialized treatment strategies. Between 2004 and 2009, a total of 37 specimens from patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma were evaluated. Twenty four cases were studied by immunohistochemistry for EGFR, p53, Cyclin Dl and Ki-67 protein expression. All cases expressed EGFR, 70% expressed p53, 75% overexpressed cyclin DI, and 20% had high ki67 proliferation index. Expression of p53 and overexpression of cyclin D1 were correlated with moderately/poorly differentiated tumors. Cases who did not develop tumor recurrence, grade II and stage I tumors were associated with low ki67 proliferation index. Tumor recurrence was associated with stage II-III, and cases originated from tongue base. However tumor recurrence was not associated with factors such as age, sex, tumor grade and any of the studied biomarkers.