Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the sixth most common malignancy and is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Every year, approximately 500,000 new cases of oral and pharyngeal cancers are diagnosed worldwide, and a majority of these cases are seen in developing countries. OSCC arises as a result of multiple molecular events that develop from the combined influences ...

BACKGROUND Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is caused by multiple factors, including carcinogen exposure. Insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding protein 3 (IMP3) is highly expressed in various cancer cells but is rarely expressed in normal cells. We investigated whether IMP3 can be used as a prognostic biomarker for OSCC. METHODS We performed immunohistochemistry and Western blotting t...

BACKGROUND 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a widely used drug for the therapy of cancer. However, the chemoresistance of tumor cells to 5-FU usually limits its clinical effectiveness. In this study, we explored the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in 5-FU resistance of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS The mRNA and protein expression levels of NLRP3, Caspase1 and IL-1β in resected OSCC specimen...

Introduction: Differentiation of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts is an initial and very important event in tumor genesis. Myofibroblasts produce proteinases that stimulate invasion in cancers. Due to the more malignant potential of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) compared to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) , the aim of the present study was to compare myofibroblasts between OSCC and ...

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 ...

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignant tumor of the head and neck and frequently metastasizes to cervical lymph nodes. Aggressive local invasion and metastasis of OSCC are significant factors for poor prognosis. In this study, we investigated whether ephrin-B2 expressed in OSCC contributed to tumor progression and lymph node metastasis. Clinical specimens from patients with O...

Podoplanin (PDPN) is a unique transmembrane receptor that promotes tumor cell motility. Indeed, PDPN may serve as a chemotherapeutic target for primary and metastatic cancer cells, particularly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells that cause most oral cancers. Here, we studied how a monoclonal antibody (NZ-1) and lectin (MASL) that target PDPN affect human OSCC cell motility and viability....

Hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor (HAI)-1/SPINT1 and HAI-2/SPINT2 are membrane-anchored protease inhibitors having homologous Kunitz-type inhibitor domains. They regulate membrane-anchored serine proteases, such as matriptase and prostasin. Whereas HAI-1 suppresses the neoplastic progression of keratinocytes to invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) through matriptase inhibition, the...

Oral cancer is the most common malignancy with poor prognosis and is the fourth most common cancer in men in Taiwan. The tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) acts as a tumor suppressor gene by inhibiting the growth, angiogenesis, migration, and invasion of cancer cells. However, few studies have examined the association of plasma TIMP3 levels with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC),...

BACKGROUND The survival rate for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has remained generally unchanged in the past three decades, underlining the need for more biomarkers to be developed to aid prognostication and effective management. The prognostic potential of E-cadherin expression in OSCCs has been variable in previous studies while galectin-9 expression has been correlated with improved pro...