Correlation of podoplanin, ezrin and Rho-A expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Podoplanin expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma has been associated with the presence of lymph node metastasis and worst patient prognosis. The exact role of podoplanin in tumoral invasion process is not clear yet. Some authors justify that podoplanin participates of the epithelial mesenchymal transition, through activation of ezrin and RhoA, leading to rearrangement of actin of the cytoskeleton and also to a higher tumoral cell motility. The aim of this study is to investigate podoplanin, ezrin and Rhoa distribuction by neoplastic cells, at the front of tumoral invasion, in oral squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip; to verify its association with epithelial mesenchymal transition; and to correlact these proteins expression with clinical and prognostic features. The sample will be constituted of 100 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma on the lower lip, clinical stages I, II and III, treated in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Othorhinolaryngology of the A.C. Camargo Hospital, São Paulo, from 1970 to 2008. The tumoral cuts will be immunohistochemically analyzed with podoplanin, ezrin and RhoA by a semi-quantitative score method. The association of these proteins with clinical and demographic features will be evaluated by Chi-square or Fischer´s test. The association between antibodies expressions will be evaluated by Mann-Whitney or Kruskal- Wallis test. (AU)