2000 Volume 6 Issue 1 Pages 15-20
Thirty patients with oral leukoplakia (OLP) were monitored for smoking habit, and their biopsy or resected specimens were analyzed immunohistochemically for the expression of cyclin D and E. Then, the relationships of smoking (habit) with epithelial dysplasia and the expression of these cyclins were estimated. The data suggested an association of the incidence of epithelial dysplasia and smoking (habit), and indicated that OLPs with severe dysplasia showed significantly higher expression of cyclin D and E than those with mild to moderate dysplasia and without dysplasia. Additionally, the patients with higher smoking index (Brinkman Index) had higher expression of these cyclins. The results suggested that smoking may induce epithelial dysplasia, augment G1 cyclin expression, and participate in oncogenesis by increasing cell proliferating activity in OLP.
