Immunohistochemical study of p53 and angiogenesis in benign and preneoplastic oral lesions and oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: Mutation of the p53 gene and overexpression of its protein are frequent in human cancer, suggesting that these events play a critical role in the onset or progression of many types of tumors. Angiogenesis also has been demonstrated to be associated with tumor progression, aggressiveness, and metastases. This study aimed to investigate-in normal oral epithelium, hyperplasia, dysplasia, and invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma-the prevalence of p53 protein immunoreactivity and of angiogenesis, and to determine the correlation between them.