Serum vitamin D levels of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and expression of vitamin D receptor in oral precancerous lesions and OSCC

• Martin Grimm ^[1] ; Marcel Cetindis ^[1] ; Thorsten Biegner ^[1] ; Max Lehman ^[1] ; Adelheid Munz ^[1] ; Peter Teriete ^[2] ; Siegmar Reinert ^[1]
  1. [1] University Hospital Tuebingen, Germany
  2. [2] Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, USA
• Localización: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal. Ed. inglesa, ISSN-e 1698-6946, Vol. 20, Nº. 2 (Marzo), 2015
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Background: Resistance to programmed cell death (apoptosis) is a crucial factor for the carcinogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Vitamin D (calcitriol) may overcome apoptosis resistance in tumor cells of OSCC. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression in oral precancerous lesions of OSCC has not been analyzed and serum vitamin D level seems to be a predictor of cancer development.

    Material and Methods: Expression of VDR was analyzed in normal oral mucosa (n=5), oral precursor lesions (simple hyperplasia, n=11; squamous intraepithelial neoplasia, SIN I-III, n=35), and OSCC specimen (n=42) by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Moreover, serum vitamin D levels were measured by 25(OH)D3 (calcidiol) in patients with OSCC (n=42) and correlated with IHC results.

    Results: Expression of VDR was significantly increased in precancerous and OSCC compared with normal tissue.

    Compared with SIN I-III lesions VDR expression significantly decreased in OSCC. Severe vitamin D deficiency was detected in our OSCC patient cohort but there was no significant correlation analyzed between serum vitamin D levels and corresponding immunohistochemically detected VDR expression in OSCC.

    Conclusions: Our survey provides the first evidence of VDR expression in precancerous lesions of OSCC. Apoptosis induction of VDR+ cells in oral precancerous lesions and OSCC by natural vitamin D or synthetic vitamin D compounds could be useful for chemoprevention. Moreover, systemically and/or locally applied, these compounds may act as sensitizers for apoptosis mediated by radio-, and chemotherapy treatment in OSCC.