HIF - 1α as a marker of risk assessment for malignant transformation in oral submucous fibrosis: An immunohistochemical study.

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a potentially malignant disorder associated with habit of chewing betel quid containing arecanut. Morphological features of OSMF especially fibrosis suggests a possibility of the hypoxic environment in diseased tissues. The adaptation of cells to hypoxia appears to be mediated via hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) which is also said to be associated with malignant transformation of epithelial cells in various other carcinomas like prostate and cervical carcinoma.