title: Apoptosis in primary oral squamous cell carcinomas without lymph node metastases.
abstract: The apoptosis in primary oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) without lymph node (IN) metastases and its relation with clinical stages and pathological grades was investigated. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl trasferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was used to detect the apoptotic cells in 15 cases of OSCCs. The percentage of apoptotic cells among tumor cells were calculated as apoptotic index (AI). The results showed that in all 15 cases of OSCCs, apoptotic cells could be visualized by TUNEL with AI ranging from 0.03 to 0.92 (average 0.32). AI was significantly negatively correlated with pathological grades (P < 0.05). It was concluded that the apoptotic rate was related to the malignant degree of OSCCs without LN metastases.
authors.affiliation: Medical Cosmetic Surgery Center, Wuhan First Hospital (International), Wuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Guomin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Handong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*