Immunohistochemical detection of desmosomes in oral squamous cell carcinomas: correlation with differentiation, mode of invasion, and metastatic potential.

An expression of desmosomal glycoprotein 1 (DG 1) was immunohistochemically examined in 77 biopsies and 21 metastatic cervical lymph nodes of oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). In the primary tumors the DG 1 expression was significantly reduced at the invasive site of poorly differentiated and highly invasive tumors. In cases of metastases in cervical lymph nodes, the DG 1 staining at the invasive site of the primary tumor was significantly less than that of nonmetastatic cases. The DG 1 expression in the metastatic lymph nodes was as weak as that in the primary tumor. Thus, we suggest that immunohistochemical investigation of DG 1 expression in oral SCC is valuable in predicting tumor behavior.