Immunohistochemical Study of p53 and bcl-2 Expression in Oral Epithelial Dysplasia and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths in India. Oral epithelial dysplasia has a high probability of developing into OSCC and the percentage of such progression is believed to be directly proportional to the severity of dysplastic changes. Many biomarkers have been studied in the past to define the genetic progression model for OSCC. The most frequently studied marker is a tumor suppressor gene p53 and its aberrant protein expression is a well documented event in the development of OSCC. The protein expression of anti-apoptotic gene bcl-2 is believed to occur early in the process of oral carcinogenesis. This study aims to assess the immunohi...