Stromal myofibroblasts in oral leukoplakia and oral squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES Oral leukoplakia (OL) is the main potentially malignant disorder and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common malignancy of the oral mucosa. Stromal myofibroblasts play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis, due to its ability to modify the extracellular matrix. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of stromal myofibroblasts in OL and OSCC. Differences in the presence of myofibroblasts among OL with distinct grades of epithelial dysplasia as well as between histologically high- and low-invasive OSCC were also assessed. STUDY DESIGN A total of 30 OL and 41 OSCC from archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens were evaluated. 10 samples of normal oral mucosa were used as a control. Myofibroblasts were identified by immunohistochemical detection of alpha smooth muscle actin and its presence was classified as negative, scanty or abundant. Differences in the presence of myofibroblasts among OL with distinct grades of epithelial dysplasia as well as between high- and low-invasive OSCC were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS Myofibroblasts were not detected in normal oral mucosa and OL, whatever its histological grade. In OSCC, the presence of stromal myofibroblasts was classified as negative in 11 (26.8%), scanty in 15 (36.6%), and abundant in 15 samples (36.6%). The presence of stromal myofibroblasts was statistically higher in high-invasive OSCC than in low-invasive OSCC (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Stromal myofibroblasts were not detected in OL, indicating that these cells are not important during oral carcinogenesis. Nevertheless, stromal myofibroblasts were heterogeneously detected in OSCC and its presence was higher in tumors with a more diffuse histological pattern of invasion. These findings suggest that myofibroblasts are associated with the creation of a permissive environment for tumor invasion in OSCC.