Caldesmon Expression in Metastatic and Non-Metastatic Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma-A Mediator of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition

Introduction: For the past decades long-term survival of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients remain unchanged which provides a wide platform for research. Caldesmon (CaD), an actin-myosin binding protein, has a contributing role in cytoskeleton modulation and cell motility. The aim of this study is to evaluate the expression of CaD in metastatic and non-metastatic OSCC and to discuss the possible role of CaD in epithelial mesenchymal transition. Materials and Methods: Archival blocks of 25 metastatic and 25 non-metastatic OSCC patients are included where CaD expression is evaluated immunohistochemically. Results: Overall expression and staining intensity of CaD were statistically significant in different grades of metastatic and non-metastatic OSCC. In summary, high expression of CaD is observed in increasing grades of OSCC but the metastatic potential of the tumour doesn't seem to have any relation with CaD.