Abstract: Objective: To investigate the expressions of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D (hnRNPD) and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) in the oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissue and normal oral mucosa tissue, and to discuss the associations between their expressions and the clinicopathological parameters of the OSCC patients,and to elucidate their effects on the occurrence and development of OSCC. Methods: The tumor tissue of 38 OSCC patients without preoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy(OSCC group)and the normal oral mucosa tissue of 11 patients with tooth extraction (control group) were selected. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect the expression levels of hnRNPD and EpCAM in the tumor tissue and normal oral mucosa tissue,the expression levels of hnRNPD and EpCAM in tumor tissue of the OSCC patients with different clinicopathological parameters were analyzed,and the correlations between the expression levels of hnRNPD and EpCAM in tumor tissue of the OSCC patients were detected by Spearman correlation test. Results: Compared with control group, the expression levels of hnRNPD and EpCAM in the tumor tissue in OSCC group were increased (Z=-4.936, P=0.000; Z=-2.780, P=0.005); there was statistically significant difference in the expression level of EpCAM in tumor tissue of the OSCC patients with different genders and ages (Z=-2.471, P=0.013;Z=-1.967; P=0.049), there was no significant difference in the expression level of hnRNPD in tumor tissue of the OSCC patients with different clinicopathological parameters(P>0.05). The correlation between the expression levels of hnRNPD and EpCAM was weak (ρ=0.227, P=0.17). Conclusion: The expression levels of hnRNPD and EpCAM in tumor tissue of the OSCC patients are up-regulated, and they promote the occurrence and development of OSCC.

Key words: oral squamous cell carcinoma, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D, epithelial cell adhesion molecule, immunohistochemistry