C-kit expression in oral leukoplakia

• Main Authors: Tegginamani, Anand S., Shivakumar, Vanishree H., Ismail, Siti Mazlipah, Abraham, Mannil T., Fernandes, Bennete A., Zamzuri, Ahmad Termizi B.
• Format: Article
• Published: College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2022
• Subjects: R Medicine (General); RK Dentistry
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/33442/
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

Oral leukoplakia is the most common potentially malignant oral disorder. Oral leukoplakia's malignant potential is independent of the histopathological grade, and the malignant transformation rate varies greatly from 3% to 50% even in the case of severe epithelial dysplasia. Ethnic & environmental variables may contribute to this variation. C-kit immunohistochemistry was performed on 15 oral leukoplakia (OL), two oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and two dentigerous cysts (DC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the c-kit expression in oral leukoplakia. The use of various immunohistochemical markers to differentiate between OLs with a high and low risk of malignant transformation has been investigated. Only four OL exhibited a faint cytoplasmic expression in basal cells. Whereas, OSCC and DC were devoid of c-kit expression. Thus, this may not be a unique marker for identifying OL at high-risk. Further research with larger sample size is required.