title: Epidermoid carcinoma of the lip: an immunohistochemical study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the expression of the c-erb-B2, p53, bcl-2, Ki67 and CD44varV6 proteins, and to establish their prognostic value in epidermoid carcinoma of the lip.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemical study of the c-erb-B2, p53, bcl-2, Ki67 and CD44varV6 proteins in 79 epidermoid carcinomas of the lip, diagnosed and treated over a period of 20 years. The data obtained were subjected to uni- and multi-variate statistical analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immunostaining was positive in 75% of cases for c-erb-B2 protein, in 70.6% for p53 protein, in 3.8% for bcl-2 protein and in 89.9% for adhesion molecule CD44varV6. Ki67 protein expression varied between a minimum of 0% and a maximum of 6.29%. Most immunohistochemical factors analyzed presented no prognostic value for epidermoid carcinoma of the lip. Only those patients affected by this type of tumor that expressed the adhesion molecule CD44varV6 were significantly associated with a greater survival calculated by means of Kaplan-Meier analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The immunohistochemical techniques analyzed for the anatomicopathological study of epidermoid carcinoma of the lip should not routinely be used due to their high cost and low utility in daily clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander. gmontesinos@humv.es
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: García-Montesinos-Perea
authors.forename: José Fernando
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Val-Bernal
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saiz-Bustillo
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000032:analysis; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D008048:Lip Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000032:analysis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006023:Glycoproteins; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; C112697:CD44v6 antigen