An immunohistochemical study of human lung cancer antigen and gastric cancer antigen in oral squamous cell carcinoma was performed to elucidate the clinical usefulness of these antigens by investigating their relationship to clinical and histopathological features.
Significantly increased expression of human lung cancer antigen was noted in highly differentiated tumors according to the WHO classification criteria. On the other hand, human gastric cancer antigen was significantly more abundant in the peritumoral epithelia of the tongue and lower gingiva than in other sites. However, no discernible relationship was detected between the distribution of these antigens and the mode of tumor invasion, or the presence of cervical lymph node metastasis.
These results suggested that immunohistochemical evaluation of human lung cancer antigen is useful in assessing tumor differentiation, and that of human gastric cancer antigen can facilitate identification of the primary site in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
