Role of pre and post incisional biopsy levels of Serum Cytokeratin-19 for detection of the dissemination of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of cytokeratin 19 for the presence and spread of oral squamous cell carcinoma following incisional biopsy. Study Design: Descriptive Cross-sectional. Setting: Isra Dental College Hospital, Isra University Hyderabad. Period: November 2020 to October 2021. Material & Methods: Consenting patients of either gender, age 20-70 years, with clinical suspicion of OSCC were included in the study. Patients with a previous history of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, those having history of previous biopsy, recurrence of carcinoma were excluded. After detailed examination, blood samples of all patients were collected before and after incisional biopsy and sent to the laboratory for further evaluation for CK-19 level. Results: Of total 60 patients, majority (86.6%) were male. Over half (53.3%) of the participants belongs to age-group 40-59 years. Before incisional biopsy, all participating OSCC patients were negative for the Cytokeratin RT-PCR assay. While RT-PCR (CK-19) was detected positive for 12 (20%) of patients within 15 minutes of biopsy whereas, remaining 48 (80%) showed negativity for CK-19 assay. Statistically significant difference (p<0.05) was observed for the post incisional biopsy CK-19 +ve and –ve patients. Male patients and patients well differentiated OSCC tumors had positive post incisional biopsy PCR compared with their counterparts (p<0.05). Conclusion: Incisional biopsy promotes the propagation of cancerous cells and increases the risk of developing metastatic lesions. Additionally, RT-PCR is a reliable tool for the detection of CK-19 transcripts in the blood.