Comparison of immunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and CD105 in oral squamous cell carcinoma: Its correlation with prognosis.

OBJECTIVES: Compare and correlate immunoexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and CD105 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and correlate its expression with the prognosis of the patient. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out on total of 49 cases of OSCC. Detailed demographic and clinical data were obtained, and tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin to grade the tumor. Later each case was subjected for immunohistochemical analysis of CD105 and VEGF. RESULTS: All the cases showed positivity for both CD105 and VEGF but high expression was noted with CD105 compared to VEGF. Average microvascular density for CD105 was higher (69.5) in moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (MDSCC) when compared to well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (WDSCC) (52.16). When expression of CD105 and VEGF was compared in WDSCC and MDSCC, it was statistically insignificant. However when expression of CD105 and VEGF was compared with survival of the patient, survival rate was <2 years in CD105 and was statistically significant, but VEGF did not show any significant difference with survival rate. CONCLUSION: CD105 immunoexpression in OSCC predicts a poor outcome than VEGF. So it can be postulated that endoglin may have a particular role in the development of cancer and might be relatively more specific than commonly used endothelial markers for squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.