Abstract
Using immunohistochemistry, we studied the expression of S100A4 and E-cadherin in 43 oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) to evaluate the metastatic potential and patient survival. Expression levels of S100A4 correlated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.024) and poor prognosis (P=0.0136). Reduced E-cadherin expression was also associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.023) and poor prognosis (P=0.0146) and was inversely correlated with S100A4 expression (P=0.011). We also found that S100A4(2+,3+)/E-cadherin(-,+) expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.04) and poor prognosis (P=0.0021). Furthermore, we systematized the evaluation of oral SCC metastasis and prognosis by analyzing the expression of S100A4, E-cadherin, and other histopathological factors. Cases with total points greater than 8 were associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.000) and poor prognosis (P=0.0022). These results indicate that S100A4, as both a single factor and in combination with E-cadherin, may be one of the most useful markers predicting the metastatic potential and prognosis of oral SCC patients.
