TRF2 Overexpression at the Surgical Resection Margin: A Potential Predictive Biomarker in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma for Recurrence

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in India with high incidence rate in eastern region due to habits of tobacco, pan and gutkha chewing habits. In majority of OSCC, the cases were presented to clinicians at later stages of the disease which leads to increased mortality. In addition presence of minimal residual disease also significantly contributed towards disease progression. Therefore, identification of potential biomarker for prognostic stratification of patients with high risk of disease recurrence and appropriate management is utmost necessary. In this study, 80 OSCC patients were included and their tumour specimen along with cut margin (CM) was collected after surgical excision. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to check expression of TRF2 in tumour and CM of OSCC patients. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS based on clinical and pathological records. It was observed that 27 OSCC patients developed recurrence during the period of the study (2012–2016). It was observed that, in 34 cases (42.25%) TRF2 expression was positive in tumour, while in 46 cases (57.75%), it was negative, while it was just reverse at CM, respectively. The odds of recurrence among patients having high levels of TRF2 in CM were 2.6 times higher than the odds of recurrence among patients having lower levels of TRF2 in CM. In conclusion, this study showed that TRF2 at surgical cut margin has a prognostic significance and can be used as a molecular marker for predicting survival in OSCC patients.