LGR5 expression in oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Andrew J Dalley; Ahmad A Abdul Majeed; Luke P Pitty; Aidan G Major; Camile S Farah

doi:10.1016/j.oooo.2014.11.014

LGR5 expression in oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2015 Apr;119(4):436-40.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2014.11.014. Epub 2014 Dec 5.

Authors

Andrew J Dalley¹, Ahmad A Abdul Majeed¹, Luke P Pitty², Aidan G Major², Camile S Farah³

Affiliations

¹ The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
² The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; The University of Queensland, School of Dentistry, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
³ The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; The University of Queensland, School of Dentistry, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; The Australian Centre for Oral Oncology Research & Education, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: camile@oralmedpath.com.au.

PMID: 25592865
DOI: 10.1016/j.oooo.2014.11.014

Abstract

Objective: LGR5 is pivotal to oral cavity development and is implicated in epithelial malignancy whereby stimulation of LGR5 potentiates canonical Wnt signaling. This investigation tested our hypothesis of a correlation between LGR5 expression and the severity of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Study design: Immunoreactive LGR5 protein expression was quantified in 342 tissue samples ranging in disease severity from normal through mild and moderate or severe OED to OSCC.

Results: LGR5 was restricted to the basal layers for normal tissues, projected to the stratum granulosum in severe dysplasia, intense in carcinoma nests of well-differentiated OSCC, but uniformly diffuse throughout poorly differentiated OSCC. Median LGR5 immunoreactivity index scores increased with disease severity: mild dysplasia = 1 < moderate or severe dysplasia = 2.5 < OSCC = 6.

Conclusions: Inclusion of LGR5 in a panel of immunohistochemical biomarkers may improve identification of increased potential for malignancy in OED.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
Biopsy
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / metabolism*
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / pathology
Epithelial Cells / metabolism
Epithelial Cells / pathology
Female
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Male
Middle Aged
Mouth Neoplasms / metabolism*
Mouth Neoplasms / pathology
Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism*
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index

Substances

Biomarkers, Tumor
LGR5 protein, human
Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled