Estimation of malignant transformation rate in cases of oral epithelial dysplasia and lichen planus using immunohistochemical expression of Ki-67, p53, BCL-2, and BAX markers.

BACKGROUND: The issue of a possible malignant transformation in the lesions like epithelial dysplasia and oral lichen planus (OLP) is a matter of serious controversy. The purpose of this study was to suggest the malignant transformation rate in OLP and oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) by using immunohistochemical expression of the tumor markers Ki-67, p53, BCL-2, and BAX.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among 70 samples, including 10 samples from normal healthy mucosa categorized into Group 1, Group 2 (30 OLP), and Group 3 (30 OED) samples. Five sections (4 μm thick) were obtained and stained with monoclonal antibodies such as Ki-67, p53, BCL-2, and BAX and analyzed for number of positive cells and also for intensity of staining. Statistical analysis was done using Mann-Whitney U-test (P < 0.05).

RESULTS: Significant results were found only for expressions of Ki-67, p53, BCL-2 markers in both study groups (P < 0.05). In these groups, the intensity of staining was mostly mild to moderate for all studied tumor markers. In this study, subjects with an average positive IHC expression of Ki-67, p53, BCL-2, and BAX markers in normal mucosa was about 22.5%, which was significantly lower when compared with OLP (54.9%) and OED (64.9%).

CONCLUSION: The high propensity for malignant transformation in OED followed by OLP suggests that a wide range of inherent and extrinsic factors contribute to the disease progression and malignant transformation.