Non-expression of Epithelial Membrane Antigen Protein is Diagnostic for Poorly Differentiated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma from Ibadan, Nigeria   

¹ Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

² Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

³ Department of Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

⁴ Cellular Parasitology Programme, Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

^*Corresponding Author

Onyegbula, K.C.

Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences

College of Medicine, University of  Ibadan

Nigeria

Email: kennethchukwudionyegbula@yahoo.com

Tel: 234-8034239571

ORCID id: 0000-0001-8177-3440

Abstract

Objective: The high morbidity rate and poor prognosis associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in developing countries is attributed to late diagnosis. In this study, we sought to determine the value of age, gender, tumor location, immunohistochemical expression of epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and cytokeratin (CkAE1/AE3) proteins in OSCC diagnosis.

Methods: Cases of OSCC at the Dental Clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria between January 2004 and December 2015 were profiled for gender, age, tumor location and histologic class. The pattern of immunoreactivity was also determined. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze patients’ demographic data which were then presented as frequencies and percentages, while Pearson’s χ² test was used to assess the association between demographic variables and OSCC.

Results: Out of 1527 tumor cases accessioned 100 (6.5%) were OSCC with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1. Peak prevalence was observed at the 7^th decade age group. The moderately differentiated class which was observed to be associated with patients in the 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th decade age groups was the most preponderant constituting 65% of cases. The palate was the most commonly affected site. While the floor of the mouth, parotid, buccal mucosa and commissure were associated with the moderately differentiated class, the oropharynx was associated with the poorly differentiated class. Cytokeratin was expressed by all the histologic classes. However, only the poorly differentiated class failed to express EMA protein.

Conclusions: In conclusion gender (P > 0.05), age (P > 0.05) and tumor location (P > 0.05) do not seem to be critical diagnostic factors associated with OSCC. However, the EMA seems to be a valuable predictive diagnostic marker for the poorly differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Keywords: Epithelial proteins, Demography, Histology, Immunohistochemistry, Carcinoma

Download the full article (PDF)