Comparison of Expression of p53 and bcl-2 Markers in Oral Lichen Planus and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background and Aim: It has been suggested that oral lichen planus (OLP) can be a potential premalignant lesion. Reports are also available on the role of bcl-2 and p53 proteins in malignant transformation of OLP into oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Due to controversies in these reports, the present study aimed to compare the expression of p53 and bcl-2 markers in OLP and OSCC. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed on erosive OLP and well-differentiated OSCC samples using bcl-2 and p53 antibodies. One-thousand cells per slide were counted, and the results were reported as percentages. The results were scored, and Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare staining grades in the two lesions. Results: Twenty-two OLP and 25 OSCC samples with a mean age of 49.3±15.8 years were evaluated. Bcl-2 expression was reported to be 16.27±8.95% in OLP and 16.4±22.9% in OSCC. Expression of p53 was 30.86±28.26% in OLP and 49.6±29.6% in OSCC. The difference in bcl-2 expression between the two lesions was not significant (P=0.266), whereas this difference was significant for p53 expression (P=0.02). The correlation coefficient between these two markers was reported to be 0.45 in OSCC and 0.1 in OLP. Conclusion: According to the results, there was a significant difference in p53 expression between OLP and OSCC samples, whereas this difference was not significant for bcl-2. There was no significant association between the expressions of these two markers in the samples. Therefore, there does not seem to be a high malignancy potential for the studied OLP samples.