Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess the frequency of appearance of stromal
myofibroblasts in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to further
clarify whether myofibroblasts influence tumour suppression or progression. Surgical
resection specimens from 152 patients with cT1–T3N0 OSCC were analysed. The frequency
of myofibroblasts within the tumour stroma was assessed immunohistochemically and
compared with other clinical and histopathological factors. The immunohistochemical
reaction for alpha-smooth muscle actin showed positive cells in the stroma of 84.2%
of OSCC (n = 128). An increased presence of myofibroblasts in the tumour stroma was significantly
correlated with T stage (P = 0.019), the presence of occult neck metastasis (P < 0.001), regional recurrence (P = 0.037), and distant metastasis (P = 0.008). There was also an association between the presence of myofibroblasts and patient
survival (P = 0.009). The presence of myofibroblasts was not associated with local recurrence, tumour
cell differentiation, mode of invasion, or bone invasion. The results of this study
suggest that myofibroblast proliferation facilitates tumour invasion, the occurrence
of occult neck disease, and distant metastasis. The survival rate was poorer in patients
with abundant myofibroblasts. Further investigations on tumour-associated stroma at
the invasive front are needed in order to establish new diagnostic markers and therapeutic
strategies.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 05, 2015
Accepted:
May 14,
2015
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
