Survivin as a potential early marker in the carcinogenesis of oral submucous fibrosis

Objective. Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic precancerous condition. Survivin is one of the inhibitors of apoptosis protein, and is focused on owing to its unique therapeutic and prognostic potential. Study design. To determine the potential involvement of survivin in the carcinogenesis of OSF, we analyzed the relationship between the survivin and clinical characteristic. Results. Immunohistochemistry was used to show that survivin expression levels were significantly higher in the oral squamous cell carcinoma transformed from OSF group compared with normal group (P < .01) and OSF group (P < .01). In the different stages of OSF, survivin expression exhibited difference as well. Furthermore, Western blotting and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed the increased expression of survivin in the carcinogenesis of OSF. Conclusion. These results suggest that survivin plays an important role during the malignant transformation of OSF and may provide an indication to early prevention and diagnosis in the progression of OSF. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2010; 109: 575-581)