Evaluation of galectin-3 expression in ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts and its association with recurrence

Introduction: Ameloblastoma is a benign odontogenic neoplasm with a high risk of recurrence. Ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts are associated with tumor growth and invasion; however, a few studies have evaluated the immunohistochemical characteristics of stromal fibroblasts and their association with recurrence in Ameloblastoma. Galectin-3 (gal-3) is a member of the B-galactoside bonding protein family that is involved in the growth of fibroblasts and their conversion to myofibroblasts. This study aimed to investigate the expression of gal-3 in ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts and its association with recurrence. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight samples with the diagnosis of ameloblastoma were included in the study. gal-3 expression in stromal fibroblasts was determined using immunohistochemical staining. We also extracted clinical, radiographic, and histological variables from the archived patients' recordings. Results: Thirty-four (70.8%) cases showed nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of gal-3. Four (8.3%) cases revealed only cytoplasmic expression and three cases (6.3%) showed only nuclear positivity for gal-3. We found no statistically significant relationship between tumor recurrence and recurrence-free survival with immunoreactivity for gal-3(Log-rank analysis: P=0.248 and P=0.555, respectively. Cox regression: P=0.272 and P=0.572, respectively). Conclusion: Gal-3 expression was seen in most samples. This protein could be one of the effective proteins in the function of ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts; however, it was not associated with the tumor recurrence and could not be used as a prognostic factor.