Objectives: The objective of the study is to evaluate the expression of CD10 in oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to determine its role as a potential biomarker in OSCC. Methods: Immunohistochemical evaluation of 40 archival paraffin-embedded tissue specimens grouped into oral epithelial dysplasia and early invasive, well-differentiated, and moderately differentiated OSCC was conducted to determine and compare the CD10 expression among the groups. Stromal positivity of the CD10 expression was calculated and statistically analyzed at p<0.05. Results: The results of the study showed that there was a statistically significant increase in the mean CD10 expression among the four groups. Intergroup comparison showed a statistically significant difference between oral epithelial dysplasia and OSCC while statistical significance was not observed in the various grades of OSCC. Conclusion: CD10 expression could be used as an important biomarker for determining the progression of oral epithelial dysplasia and the overall prognosis of OSCC. Keywords: Biomarker, CD10, oral epithelial dysplasia, oral cancer, immunohistochemistry
Corresponding Author: Gokul Sridharan