The etiological factors of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck have been
well known for a long time. It is also well known that the incidence of oral cancer
diagnosed in younger patients is on the rise. Due to the young age of these patients,
the increase in the number of these cases and the fact that many of them neither smoke
nor drink alcohol it has been suggested that other factors might be at play in the
carcinogenesis of oral cancer. Thus, along the classic etiological factors of smoking
and alcohol abuse certain molecular marker anomalies and the human papilloma virus
(HPV) have emerged as potential factors. The aim of the present study is to verify
the potential prognostic factors and to map the differences in biomarker expression
between the young and the old patient groups. In the present study the immunohistochemical
profile of samples obtained from oral squamous cell carcinomas was studied and compared
with various clinico-pathological parameters. In 88 samples the expressions of p16,
p53, Ki67, EGFR were studied with a tissue microarray technique under standard reaction
conditions as well as the detection and typing of HPV infection with the Full Spectrum
HPV DNA method. The biomarker expression profile of young patients with oral squamous
cell carcinoma was compared to that of older patients (above 50). A significant difference
was found between the immunohistochemical profile of the young and old patient groups
in p16, Ki67 expression. The overall survival and progression free survival were influenced
by p16 expression in young age.