ORAL SQUAMOUS PAPILLOMA AND SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

DIAGNOSTIC UTILITY OF P53 IN DIFFERENTIATING

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic utility of
p53 in differentiating oral squamous papilloma and squamous cell carcinoma. Study Design:
A cross-sectional study. Setting: Pathology Department of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer
Hospital and Research Center Lahore. Period: Six months (6-10-10 to 6-04-11). Patients and
Methods: A total of 100 oral biopsies fulfilling the inclusion criteria were collected. The expression
of P53 was observed in biopsies of squamous papilloma and squamous cell carcinoma. Data
was entered and analyzed on SPSS version 20 and was analyzed in same package. Sensitivity,
specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values were calculated along their
confidence intervals at 95% level. Results: One hundred oral lesions were studied, of which 90
cases were of squamous cell carcinoma and 10 cases were of squamous papilloma. Majority
of the patients were male (60%). Mean age was 46 years. P53 IHC stain had sensitivity of 92%
and specificity of 80% and diagnostic utility of 91% in lesions of squamous cell carcinoma.
Conclusion: P53 is positively expressed in oral squamous cell carcinoma and is negative
in squamous papilloma. Hence evaluation of p53 expression can be a useful adjunct in the
diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma, especially in cases where it is difficult to distinguish
between these two entities on morphological grounds.