Abstract

Hyperplastic lesions of the oral mucosa such as leukoplakia and oral lichen planus can eventually develop into squamous cell carcinomas. The development of carcinomas may be the result of the interaction of genetic factors, carcinogens and an impaired immune response. The presence of S-100 positive Langerthans cells in normal mucosa, premalignant and malignant lesions of the oral mucosa was investigated by immunohistology. Quantitative analysis showed that in benign lesions of the oral mucosa the average number of S-100 positive cells was much higher than in normal mucosa. In the neoplastic lesions the number of S-100 positive cells was in general lower than in the benign lesions and decreased even more with loss of differentiation. The data suggest that the infiltration of dendritic cells increases in benign lesions of the oral mucosa, implying a normal immunostimulatory potential, and decreases in malignant lesions in relation to the loss of differentiation in the tumors.

View details for PubMedID 7893981