Immunohistochemical expression of osteonectin/SPARC in oral epithelial dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and squamous cell carcinoma

Aim This study demonstrated the immunohistochemical expression of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) in oral epithelial dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and methods This study used 28 OSCC; 11 well differentiated OSCC, 10 moderate differentiated OSCC and seven poorly differentiated OSCC that simultaneously contained dysplastic epithelium and carcinoma in situ were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for SPARC. Results All cases of OSCC showed positivity to SPARC. There was a significant correlation between SPARC expression and grades of OSCC (P 0.01). The high expression was noted in poorly differentiated OSCC in addition to the expression of some stromal cells. No SPARC expression was noted in normal oral epithelium. Conclusion The results of this study showed that SPARC may be useful in early stages of cancerization and may be used as a marker for predicting the progression of OSCC. In addition, stromal SPARC expression is an effective indicator for targeted stromal therapy.