Cold spot assessment in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition: a histological predictor of tumor recurrence in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma

Objectives: To investigate clinical implications of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) expression in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and Methods: E-cadherin and vimentin expression was studied in 50 newly diagnosed cases of OSCC who underwent surgical excision. EMT expression at non cold spot infiltrative margin and cold spot was studied and correlated with prognostic factors and disease-free survival (DFS). Results: EMT expression at the cold spot and non-cold spot infiltrative margin showed significant results with nodal status (P < 0.001, P < 0.009 respectively). On multivariate analysis, only EMT at the cold spot correlated significantly with prognostic factors (P < 0.030). The factors affecting DFS on Kaplan Meier index were EMT expression and differentiation (P < 0.002, P < 0.016 respectively) which proved significant in cox regression analysis. Conclusion: The study reveals that EMT expression at the cold spot is a significant biomarker for predicting lymph-node metastasis and tumor recurrence in OSCC.