Immunohistochemical differences in squamous precancerous and cancerous lesions of the oral cavity and the larynx: preliminary data

The aim of this study is to assess immune cell populations in squamous precancerous (preinvasive) and cancerous lesions of the oral cavity and larynx. Qualitative and quantitative immunohistochemical analyses were performed to determine the expressions of CD4, CD8, CD15, CD57 and CD68. The expressions of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), p16 and Ki67 were also assessed. Squamous cell lesions from forty-one patients were included in the study. Sixteen samples were categorized as precancerous (preinvasive) lesions and twenty-five as invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Invasive lesions showed a negative correlation with CD57+ cells (  = 0.69) and a positive correlation with Ki67 (  = 0.61). The amount of CD4+ lymphocytes was higher in invasive lesions. There were no differences in PD-L1 and p16 immunoreactivity. Our analysis showed differences in the immunohistochemical profile between preinvasive and invasive squamous cell lesions. In the near future, this study should be useful in driving treatment strategy in both preinvasive and invasive squamous cell lesions of the oral cavity and larynx. However, studies on larger series of patients focusing on site-specific lesions are required.