Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a well-known malignancy with diverse clinicopathological behavior and high mortality rate. It has great tendency to undergo lymph node metastasis. Its metastatic spread is highly regulated and entails the interplay of several factors released from cancer cells as well as stromal cells. Lipocalin-2 (LCN-2) is a secreted glycoprotein characterized by its involvement in inflammation, infection and cancer. Its role in oral cancer progression remains elusive. LCN-2 tends to form a complex with matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), a well-known regulator of tumor microenvironment, enhancing its tumorigenic activity.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of LCN-2 and MMP-9 in OSCC.
Material and methods: The study was carried out on forty paraffin embedded archival OSCC specimens. The specimens were immunohistochemically stained against LCN-2 and MMP-9.
Results: Significant downregulation of LCN-2 expression was found in cancer cells with increased malignant criteria whereas stromal LCN-2 expression showed positive correlation with advanced histopathologic grade. Inverse correlation was observed between LCN-2 expression in both cancer and stromal with lymph node metastasis. MMP-9 expression was inversely correlated with the advanced histopathologic grades in both cancer and stromal cells.
Conclusion: The downregulation of LCN-2 and MMP-9 expressions in cancer cells with advanced OSCC histopathologic grade as well as at tumor invasive fronts propose their putative prognostic value.