Expression of ets-1 is not affected by N-ras or H-ras during oral oncogenesis.

Purpose: To determine whether ras-activated cascades lead to activation of ets-1 expression in sequential histological stages of oral oncogenesis in an experimental animal model.

Methods: Thirty-seven Syrian golden hamsters were divided into three experimental groups (A, B, C) and one control group. The hamsters' buccal pouches in experimental groups were treated with 0.5% 9, 10-dimethyl-1, 2-benzanthracene (DMBA) for 14 weeks and were excised at 10, 14, 19 weeks, respectively. The biopsies were classified pathologically (normal mucosa, hyperkeratosis, hyperplasia, dysplasia, early invasion, well and moderately differentiated carcinoma) and studied immunohistochemically. The two-tailed Student's t test was performed for each animal group and for each histological category.

Results: The ets-1 expression increased in early stages of oral tumor formation and invasion. The expression of N-ras gradually decreased during oral oncogenesis, as previously observed with H-ras.

Conclusions: Neither N-ras nor H-ras affects ets-1 expression in contrast to other types of cancer in which N-ras and ets-1 are implicated in the same signalling pathway. Therefore, the existing pathway implicating these proteins might be somehow altered in oral cancer. It seems that ets-1 is a good prognostic marker for invasiveness and progression of oral cancer.