Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2775663 | Experimental and Molecular Pathology | 2010 | 7 Pages |
ObjectiveIdentify candidate SEBs (surrogate endpoint biomarkers) for premalignant trends in head and neck mucosa.Study designStudy, by qPCR (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction), the expression of COX-2, EGFR and p53 in 24 biopsies of non-dysplastic oral leukoplakia and contra-lateral normal-appearing mucosa.ResultsCOX-2 was up-regulated in leukoplakia (79.2%); whereas EGFR and p53 were up-regulated (p > 0.05) in oral contra-lateral normal-appearing mucosa (60% and 46% respectively). Also, p53 expression was correlated with tobacco smoke habits and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient showed a positive linear correlation between p53 and EGFR mRNA expression levels.ConclusionsCOX-2 would serve as SEB of oral leukoplakia. The results suggest that p53 appears to be one of the molecular targets of tobacco-related carcinogens in leukoplakia and that the co-expression of p53 and EGFR may play a role in this kind of oral pre-cancerous lesion. More detailed studies of EGFR and p53 should be continued in the future.