A Plausible Proposition of CCL20-Related Mechanism in <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i>-Associated Oral Carcinogenesis
Devi Prasad Mandal,
Neeta Mohanty,
Paresh Kumar Behera,
Divya Gopinath,
Sasmita Panda,
Abdulaziz A. Al-Kheraif,
Darshan Devang Divakar,
Sukumaran Anil,
Swagatika Panda
Affiliations
Devi Prasad Mandal
Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha ’O’ Anusandhan Deemed to Be University, Bhubaneswar 751030, Odisha, India
Neeta Mohanty
Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha ’O’ Anusandhan Deemed to Be University, Bhubaneswar 751030, Odisha, India
Paresh Kumar Behera
Head and Neck Oncology, Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre, Cuttack 753007, Odisha, India
Divya Gopinath
Clinical Oral Health Sciences Division, School of Dentistry, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
Sasmita Panda
Department of Pathology, Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre, Cuttack 753007, Odisha, India
Abdulaziz A. Al-Kheraif
Dental Biomaterials Research Chair, Dental Health Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia
Darshan Devang Divakar
Dental Biomaterials Research Chair, Dental Health Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia
Sukumaran Anil
Department of Dentistry, Oral Health Institute, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha P.O. Box 3050, Qatar
Swagatika Panda
Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha ’O’ Anusandhan Deemed to Be University, Bhubaneswar 751030, Odisha, India
Objective: The objective of this prospective observational case–control study is to evaluate the prevalence of Fusobacterium nucleatum in the tissues of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Reconnoitering the CCL20-related mechanism of carcinogenesis in Fusobacterium nucleatum-positive OSCC is another objective. Methodology: Tissues from 50 OSCC patients and 30 healthy oral tissues were collected. The prevalence of Fusobacterium nucleatum was evaluated in both tumour and healthy tissue by polymerase chain reaction. The immunohistochemistry of OSCC tissues was conducted to evaluate the difference in the expression of CCL20 between Fusobacterium nucleatum-positive and -negative OSCC tissues. Results: Fusobacterium nucleatum was significantly (p Fusobacterium nucleatum or CCL20 immuno-expression with any clinical or histopathological features of OSCC was observed. While the intensity of CCL20 immuno-expression did not differ (p = 0.053), the CCL20-positive cell population was significantly different (p = 0.034) between Fusobacterium nucleatum-positive and -negative OSCC. Conclusion: Fusobacterium nucleatum is possibly prevalent in oral cancer tissues in the Indian population. By using immunohistochemistry, this is the first study to propose that the carcinogenesis in Fusobacterium nucleatum-positive OSCC may be CCL20-related. The findings enrich the knowledge of mechanisms involved in Fusobacterium nucleatum-mediated oral carcinogenesis.
