Expression and Significance of Periostin in Tissues and Serum in Oral Leukoplakia and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

This study aims to investigate the expression changes of periostin (PN or OSF-2) in oral leukoplakia (OLK) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and analyze its significance in the development of OSCC. The expression of periostin was detected from tissue specimens and serum obtained from normal mucosa, OLK and OSCC by immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Periostin was significantly overexpressed in OLK and OSCC, when compared with normal controls ( < 0.05). Furthermore, the overexpression of periostin was positively correlated with TNM stage, depth of invasion, and lymph node metastasis ( < 0.05). The overexpression of periostin may be involved in the carcinogenesis process of OLK, which may be used as a marker for detecting OLK. In addition, periostin serum levels can be used as a potential indicator of invasion and a prognosis target for OSCC.