The aim of this study was to establish an immunoprofile of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and to explore as first time in literature the possible correlation between maspin, DOG-1, p16 protein and angiogenesis in these tumors. For SCCs, the histological grade of differentiation was also taken into account. The angiogenesis was quantified in 38 randomly selected cases of SCCs and 17 BCCc, respectively, using the antibodies vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) and COX-2, while the microvessel density (MVD) was evaluated with the CD31.
Results: In SCCs, maspin cytoplasm to nuclear shift was an indicator of a deeper tissue invasion and dedifferentiation in the invasion front. The poorly differentiated cases, compared to G1÷G2-SCCs, expressed more frequent the markers p16 (30.77% vs. 8%) and VEGF-A (53.85% vs. 32%), regardless the MVD. However, the p16 positivity was more frequent in BCCs than SCCs (52.94% vs. 15.79%). All of the p16-positive carcinomas were located in the head and neck area. DOG-1 marked 21.05% of SCCs and 5.88% of BCCs, being directly correlated with COX-2 positivity. Eccrine glands and hair follicles also expressed DOG-1.
Conclusions: In cutaneous SCCs located in the head and neck area, sun-dependent p16÷VEGF interaction seems to be responsible by tumor dedifferentiation, whereas maspin cytoplasm to nuclear shift might indicate a high degree of invasiveness. This is the first report about DOG-1 positivity in BCCs and eccrine glands, the significance of this pattern being unknown.