Roles of beta-catenin and p63 in the proliferation of squamous cell carcinoma in rat tongue

[Objective]The roles of beta-catenin and p63 in the carcinogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC) have not yet been elucidated.We investigated their expressions in OSCC,probing its role during the course of proliferation of OSCC carcinogenesis.[Methods]Surgical specimens from 48 OSCC patients were examined for beta-catenin and p63 expressions by the method of immunohistochemical staining.[Results]Among all the 8 cases of well differentiated OSCCs there are 7 and 6 cases of high expressions of p63 and beta-catenin,respectively.Beta-catenin and p63 showed no significant difference with the grades of OSCC carcinogenesis.[Conclusions]The results suggested that beta-catenin plays a similar role during the course of proliferation of OSCC carcinogenesis between human and rat.