[Expression of cytokeratin 19 in the development and progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma].

PURPOSE: To investigate the expression of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) in various stages of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and to explore the relation between CK19 and OSCC.

METHODS: Forty-nine specimens including normal oral mucosa, epithelial hyperplasia, epithelial dysplasia, and oral squamous carcinoma were investigated. The expression of CK19 was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The serum of OSCC patients and healthy people was collected and CYFRA21-1 level was determined by ELISA. SPSS17.0 software package was used for data elevated.

RESULTS: CK19 was detectable in suprabasal cell layers in epithelia dysplasia and in oral cancer, especially in poorly-differentiated cancerous cells. With epithelia dysplasia becoming worse, the positive rate and the intensity of CKI9 raised significantly. CYKA21-1 in OSCC was significantly higher than that in normal control group(P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: CK19 overexpression is an early event in the process of oral mucosal canceration. Its abnormal expression can be used as one of the reliable indexes of early diagnosis of OSCC.