Estudo Imuno-histoquímico dos fibroblastos associados ao câncer em carcinoma de células escamosas de língua oral

Abstract

Introduction: In the tumor microenvironment, the presence of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) is directly associated with an unfavorable prognosis of oral cancer. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) frequently occurs in males in their sixth decade of life. The tongue is one of the most frequent sites, with better survival rates. Objective: To investigate the immunoexpression of TGF-β and α-SMA proteins in the tumor microenvironment of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). Methodology: A sample of 20 cases of OTSCC from incisional biopsies was selected. For morphological analysis, the histopathological grading model proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was used, and for immunohistochemical analysis, the proportion and intensity for TGF-β and the proportion and distribution pattern for α-SMA were demonstrated, with all cases classified as low and high expression categories. All data were submitted to Pearson's Chi-square and Fisher's exact statistical tests. Results: Most of the sample consisted of men, with a mean age of 63.5 years, with cancer revealed in projects II and III (40%), with 35% of the sample evolving to death and 55% classified as well differentiated based on the WHO grading. The results of the α-SMA analysis revealed a predominance of the sample for low expression (70%), as well as for the network immunostaining pattern (55%). For TGF-β, a higher frequency of high expression was evidenced for the tumor parenchyma (65%), while the tumor stroma demonstrated a predominance of low expression (55%). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the tumor parenchyma, through TGF-β, can act by inducing the formation of a reactive stroma through its action as a leading mediator in the transdifferentiation of CAFs