Expression of p53 is associated with microbial acetaldehyde production in oralsquamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

<div lang="en" class="abs"><p class="abs_header">Abstract</p><p><em>Objectives:</em> The objective of this study was to investigate the association between p53 expression and microbial acetaldehyde production in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).</p><p><em>Study design:</em> Oral mucosal biopsies from 22 patients with OSCC and 24 healthy controls (HCs) were collected. p53 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Microbial samples were collected from the mucosa and microbial acetaldehyde production from ethanol was measured by gas chromatography.</p><p><em>Results:</em> The majority of all OSCC (77%) and HC samples (67%) produced mutagenic levels of acetaldehyde (>100 µM). A significant positive correlation between microbial acetaldehyde production and p53 expression levels in OSCC samples was seen in the intermediate and superficial layers of the epithelium of the infiltrative zone (<em>P</em> = .0005 and <em>P</em> = .0004, respectively) and in the superficial layer of the healthy appearing mucosa next to the tumor (<em>P</em> = .0391). There was no significant correlation between acetaldehyde levels and p53 expression in HC samples.</p><p><em>Conclusions:</em> Our results show an association between microbial acetaldehyde production and immunostaining of p53 in OSCC samples.</p></div>