Comparative Study of Immunohistochemical Expression of Moesin and FLOT 1 in OSCC and Their Correlation with Histopathological Prognostic Factors.

AIM: To study immunohistochemical (IHC) expression patterns of Moesin and FLOT 1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to correlate it with histopathological prognostic factors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was conducted on histopathologically diagnosed cases of OSCC. The inclusion criteria were carcinoma of buccal mucosa, tongue, alveolar mucosa, palate, gingiva, the floor of the mouth, retromolar area, and soft palate. The exclusion criteria included cases of squamous cell carcinoma from sites other than the oral cavity, potentially malignant disorders (PMDs), and any pseudomalignancies of the head and neck. Tissue sections were subjected to IHC staining for Moesin and FLOT 1 and the results were subjected to statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Moesin showed strong positivity and was significantly associated with the histopathological variables such as lymph nodes and the worst pattern of invasion, whereas FLOT 1 was not associated with any clinical, histopathological, or demographical variable in this study.

CONCLUSION: Cytoplasmic detection of Moesin (35.19%) was higher than FLOT 1 (15.74%). There was no statistically significant relationship between the grade of the lesion and Moesin and FLOT 1.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: New emerging prognostic biomarkers can aid to assess the rate of malignant transformation (epigenetic and molecular changes), thereby resulting in early prophylactic conciliation of the disease progression in OSCC. There is an urgent need for introducing these as an interventional therapy for effectively addressing OSCC at an early stage, thus preventing it from further proceeding to the advanced severe stage.