Abstract
Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of MCM2 in normal epithelium and in cases of oral epithelial dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma and correlate MCM2 in different grades of dysplasia and different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Materials and Methods: The study was carried to compare and evaluate the expression of MCM2 in OED and OSCC. The study comprised of 15 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma and 15 cases of oral dysplastic epithelium. The criteria used to define MCM2 positive cells were: brown staining of nuclei. 10 random fields were chosen and 100 cells were counted. Results: In different grades of dysplasia, the mean labeling index of MCM2 in different grades of dysplasia were calculated as 46.3 (SD=1.32), 50.325 (SD=4.47) and 60.44 (SD=6.58) respectively. These means were analyzed by using one way ANOVA test and p value of <0.001 was obtained which was statistically significant. In different grades of OSCC: the mean LIs of MCM2 in various grades of OSCC were calculated as 70.62 (SD=0.420), 79.02 (SD=2.456) and 83.65 (SD=0.494). These means were analyzed using one way ANOVA test and a p value of 0.000 was obtained which was statistically significant. Conclusion: This study indicated that MCM2 has a potential role to be used as a reliable proliferative marker in OED and OSCC. Its expression can be used not only to estimate the proliferative index, but also as a prognostic factor for the survival of patients with oral cancer.