Expression of Breast Cancer Gene 2 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and its Correlation with the Metastatic Potential

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2), a tumor suppressor gene, has been extensively evaluated in various cancers and correlated with metastatic potentials. However, to the best of our knowledge, the correlation has not been reflected in the literature in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Any positive correlation may yield the protein as an exploitable marker for the prediction of metastasis and target for chemotherapy in patients with OSCC. Materials and Methods: This observational retrospective study was conducted on 54 tissue samples, 18 samples each of normal oral mucosa, and of OSCC with and without cervical lymph node metastasis. The study samples were immunohistochemically stained with BRCA2 antibody. The staining index was calculated as a product of the percentage of positive cells per high-power field (HPF) (A) and the staining intensity (B). Results: Based on intergroup comparisons, it was found that the percentage of positive cells/HPF, staining intensity, and staining index were higher in OSCCs with cervical lymph node metastasis and lower in normal oral mucosa samples. It was found that a large number of the normal oral mucosa samples (n = 13) did not show any BRCA2 immunoreactivity and a large number of the OSCC samples with cervical lymph node metastasis displayed high BRCA2 immunoreactivity (n = 15). Conclusion: Overexpression of BRCA2 is linked to the presence of metastases in patients with OSCC and has the potential to be utilised as a marker to predict the outcome of the patient's treatment. The findings may be used in the future to develop targeted therapies, depending on the direction that future research follows.