Glypican-3 Expression in Patients with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Statement of the Problem: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a malignant neoplasm that affects the structures or tissues of mouth. Early diagnosis of these tumors is important to improve the outcome of treatment. Therefore, using pathological techniques based on molecular markers may be useful for optimal diagnosis and treatment. Glypican-3 (GPC3) is involved in regulation of cell proliferation and morphogenesis and is abundant during embryogenesis and organogenesis but is limited in most of adult tissues. GPC3 overexpression has a role in carcinogenesis. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate GPC3 expression in the nonneoplastic oral epithelium and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Materials and Method: In this cross-sectional study, 45 patients with OSCC (30 males and 15 females) with a mean age of 52.3 selected from Oral Pathology Department of Shiraz Dental School were enrolled. The control group was consisted of 15 cases of normal oral epithelium. Glypican-3 expression was assessed by using immunohistochemical methods. Results: Non neoplastic tissues were GPC3 negative. Frequency of GPC3 positivity in tumoral tissues was recorded as 73.3% (33 cases) which was significantly higher than nonneoplastic tissues (p< 0.001).The clinicopathologic features of GPC3 expression demonstrated no association with clinicopathologic parameters except tumor size. Conclusion: GPC3 was over expressed at protein level in oral squamous cell carcinoma, but its potential use for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes requires further investigation.