A Longitudinal Study of E-Cadherin and Beta-Catenin in Progression of Oral Epithelial Dysplasia.

BACKGROUND: This study explored the expression patterns of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers E-cadherin and beta-catenin in mild and moderate oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) to determine whether their expression predicts malignant progression in oral tissue. METHODS: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens with mild or moderate dysplasia were retrieved from 87 patients. Immunohistochemistry was performed to compare E-cadherin and beta-catenin expression in tissue sections that progressed to severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, or squamous cell carcinoma (n = 29) with those that did not progress (n = 58). Expression patterns were observed in the basal, parabasal, lower spinous, and upper spinous epithelial layers. Expression was assessed in the cell membrane for E-cadherin and beta-catenin (low expression = absent/weak staining, high = moderate/strong) and in the cytoplasm and nucleus for beta-catenin (low = absence, high = presence). Logistic regression was used to predict progression based on the expression pattern. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the progression and expression patterns of E-cadherin and beta-catenin (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study found that the expression of E-cadherin and beta-catenin was not a predictor of early malignant progression, highlighting the importance of longitudinal studies in studying progression.