Role of cyclooxygenase-2, ezrin and matrix metalloproteinase-9 as predictive markers for recurrence of basal cell carcinoma.

CONTEXT

Recurrence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) may form a prognostic problem that couldn't be fully predicted. Although there are different clinical and histologic risk factors for BCC recurrence, few reports are available for the role of biologic markers.

AIM

The aim of this study was to assess the value of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Ezrin and Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in recurrence of BCC.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A retrospective controlled study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Primary tumors of 22 patients who had recurrent basal cell carcinoma (R-BCC) and 22 matched controls that showed non-recurrent basal cell carcinoma (NR-BCC) were collected. Clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical results were recorded and analyzed.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

SPSS software version 13 and Pearson χ2 test.

RESULTS

R-BCC showed COX-2 expression in 20 (90.9%) cases compared to 13 (59.1%) in NR-BCC with a significant difference (P = 0.04). Moderate to strong intensity was recorded in 13 recurrent and two non-recurrent tumors. Higher frequency for Ezrin immunopositivity was noted in R-BCC (72.7%) than NR-BCC (40.9%), but the difference did not reach the level of significance (P = 0.07). Twelve R-BCC and three NR-BCC revealed moderate to strong staining. For MMP-9, there was no statistically significant difference (P = 1) between recurrent cases (63.6%) and controls (68.2%). No correlation was found between marker expressions and clinical or histologic features of R-BCC.

CONCLUSIONS

Biologic markers may have a promising role in assessment of BCC prognosis and early detection of recurrence. High COX-2 expression could be considered as a risk factor of BCC recurrence that can be added to other clinical and histologic factors.