Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.
Histopathology. 2016 May;68(6):897-904. doi: 10.1111/his.12870. Epub 2015 Nov 16.
To study the expression of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) by immunohistochemistry and investigate its association with various clinicopathological parameters, including patient survival.
This cross-sectional study was carried out on 60 histologically confirmed cases of OSCC. EpCAM expression was evaluated by the indirect streptavidin-biotin method and was then assessed semiquantitatively in terms of staining proportion, staining intensity and total staining. The immunoprofile of EpCAM was correlated with clinicopathological parameters such as gender, habit, tumour size, site, regional lymph node and distant metastasis, clinical stage, histological grade, local tumour recurrence and patient survival. EpCAM expression was found to be absent in normal oral mucosa. However, positive staining was seen in 51 of 60 OSCC cases and EpCAM overexpression in 11 specimens. Overexpression of EpCAM was associated significantly with tumour size, histological grade, local recurrence of tumour and patient survival.
EpCAM serves as a potential biomarker of prognostic significance that could be used to identify patients at high risk and to predict patient survival. Moreover, EpCAM antigen represents an attractive target for immunotherapeutic approaches in a subgroup of patients with EpCAM-positive OSCC.
通过免疫组织化学方法研究上皮细胞黏附分子（EpCAM）在口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）中的表达，并探讨其与各种临床病理参数的关系，包括患者的生存情况。
本研究为一项横断面研究，共纳入 60 例经组织学证实的 OSCC 患者。采用间接链霉亲和素-生物素法评估 EpCAM 的表达，并根据染色比例、染色强度和总染色进行半定量评估。EpCAM 的免疫表型与临床病理参数（如性别、习惯、肿瘤大小、部位、区域淋巴结和远处转移、临床分期、组织学分级、局部肿瘤复发和患者生存情况）相关联。EpCAM 在正常口腔黏膜中无表达，但在 60 例 OSCC 中有 51 例呈阳性染色，11 例呈 EpCAM 过表达。EpCAM 过表达与肿瘤大小、组织学分级、肿瘤局部复发和患者生存情况显著相关。
EpCAM 可作为一种有预后意义的潜在生物标志物，用于识别高危患者并预测患者的生存情况。此外，EpCAM 抗原代表了 EpCAM 阳性 OSCC 亚组患者免疫治疗方法的一个有吸引力的靶点。
