Immunohistochemical expression of SOX2 in oral normal epithelial, dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an aggressive neoplasm with serious morbidity and mortality, which typically spreads through local invasive growth. A key approach to this tumor would be to detect potentially malignant lesions at their early stages. The transcription factor, Sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) is an essential regulator of pluripotent stem cells and promotes developmentand maintenance of squamous epithelia. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 24 samples of SCC, oral epithelial dysplasia and control group, then immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect SOX2 expression. Results: Comparisons between SCC and oral epithelial dysplasia group did not reveal any significant difference (p=0.496); also values of control and oral epithelial dysplasia group were statically different (p 0.001). Similarly, a significant difference was observed between the values of SCC and controls’ (p 0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, SOX2 overexpression is seen in oral dysplasia and SCC and their detection in early stages could be crucial for early tumor identification.