Correlation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expressions with clinico-pathological features of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a characteristic aggressiv e tumor representing a significant public health threat all over the world. Up to 50–60% of solid tumors may exhibit hypoxic tissue areas that are heterogeneously distributed within the tumor stroma. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a central regulator in the adaptive cellular response to hypoxia; however its role is still uncovered. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important molecule playing crucial role not only in inflammation, but also in angiogenesis and thus tumor growth and progression. So, the aim of this work is to investigate the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in OSCC and correlate their expressions with clinical and histopathological features of OSCC. In this work, tissue specimens from a total of 45 cases with OSCC were stained immunohistochemically with HIF-1α and VEGF antibodies and examined microscopically.The results of this study revealed that HIF-1α and VEGF expressions appeared to be significantly positive and directly related to histopathological grades, lymph node (LN) status as well as clinical stages of OSCC. Moreover, HIF-1α expression was significantly correlated to angiogenic activity measured by VEGF immunostaining. Thus, it was concluded that HIF-1α and VEGF expressions were up-regulated with increased malignancy and can be used as predictive markers of tumor behavior.