ASSOCIATION BETWEEN XPF AND XRCC1 PROTEINS WITH CLINICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN LOWER LIP AND ORAL TONGUE SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA
Oral Squamous cell carcinoma; DNA repair; immunohistochemistry; XRCC1; XPF
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is considered a major public health problem, accounting for more than 90% of all oral cavity malignancies and approximately 38% of malignant head and neck tumors. Oral carcinogenesis is a multifactorial process, exposure to carcinogenic agents such as tobacco, alcohol and ultraviolet solar radiation, for example, are associated with the development of the neoplasia. Changes caused by carcinogens promote the accumulation of genetic modifications that include alterations in the normal functions of protooncogenes and tumor suppressor genes that affects the cell cycle, cellular immunity, differentiation, proliferation and cell death and also modifications in the repair of damage to the cell. Changes in DNA repair genes may play an important role in the development of tumors and in the resistance of malignant cells to chemotherapeutic agents. In the DNA repair system, there are genes and proteins that are essential in maintaining the integrity of the genome, avoiding serious cellular alterations, such as the disordered proliferation who may develops cancer, especially the oral cancer. Some studies have investigated the role of these proteins ascribed to DNA repair with the intention of acting as biomarkers of oral cancer. And the understand the functions of genes and proteins which guard and maintain the cellular integrity are necessary. The objective of this study is to investigate the immunoexpression of DNA repair proteins, XRCC1 and XPF in squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip and oral tongue and its association with clinical, histologic, and survival parameters and investigate a possible role for those proteins in tumor behavior.