Abstract
Introduction: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic cytokine which induces endothelial cell proliferation, migration and is important in developing new vascular beds. CD34 is a heavily glycosylated type I transmembrane glycoprotein and considered as an important marker for tissue vascularisation which represents microvascular density in the tissue.
Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess, compare and correlate the expression of VEGF and CD34 in normal oral mucosa and in different grades of epithelial dysplasia to infer if angiogenesis has a role in progression of epithelial dysplasia.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 40 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks, including normal oral mucosa (10 cases), mild epithelial dysplasia (10 cases), moderate epithelial dysplasia (10 cases) and severe epithelial dysplasia (10 cases) which are histopathologically diagnosed using Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E). VEGF expression was observed on the basis of localization, intensity and area of stained cells whereas, CD34 expression was assessed in relation to the localisation and microvessel density.
Results: The expression of VEGF and CD34 was found to increase significantly during the transition from normal oral mucosa to severe oral epithelial dysplasia. A statistically significant correlation (p<0.001) was observed between VEGF and CD34 expression.
Conclusion: The evaluation of expression of VEGF in the epithelium and CD34 in the connective tissue can be an adjuvant aid for the assessment of the severity of the lesions in biopsy specimens apart from the routinely used methods for histopathological diagnosis.