Immunohistochemistry expression of CEMP1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma

• Published in: Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology, 2025-01, Vol.139 (1), p.e32-e32
• Main Authors: García-Niño-de-Rivera, MW, Arzate, H, Domínguez-Rosales, JA, Ramos-Cruz, JA, Soto-Avila, JJ, González-González, R, Kikuchi, K, López-Verdín, S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2212-4403
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oooo.2024.10.244

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) represents the most common type of head and neck SCC. It is characterized by a poor prognosis and is strongly correlated with a higher propensity for lymph node metastases, considering cellular dedifferentiation a hallmark of this invasion. Cementum protein 1 (CEMP1) participates in the signaling pathways involved in cell differentiation and has not been previously evaluated in OSCC tissues. To evaluate the protein expression of CEMP1 in OSCC and its association with differentiation grading. Paraffin blocks from OSCC biopsies were collected. Subsequently, the tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin to mark the area with the greatest representation of neoplastic cells. The selected areas were extracted with a punch for the construction of microarrays. Immunohistochemistry assays were performed with the complete (not commercially available) recombinant protein of CEMP-1. The Immunoreactive Score (IRS) was used for the identification and qualitative evaluation of CEMP1. Twenty-five paraffin blocks of OSCC were analyzed. The grade of differentiation was good in 15 cases, moderate in 3 cases, and poor in 7 cases. Well-differentiated IRS scores were strong in the majority of cases (12 to 80%), whereas mild and low scores were frequently found in moderately and poorly differentiated cases. According to the results obtained in this study, CEMP-1 was related to the maintenance of cellular differentiation, which is considered a histopathological characteristic for a favorable prognosis. CEMP1 could be used as a therapeutic decision marker. However, more studies are required to establish this.