Hormone receptors AR, ER, PR and growth factor receptor Her-2 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma: Correlation with overall survival, disease-free survival and 10-year survival in a high-risk population

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) comprises most of head and neck neoplasms and is one of the highest-ranking and lethal cancers in Pakistan due to prevailing mouth habits. Growth and hormonal receptors act as prognostic markers and targets for therapy in some cancers, but their application in OSCC is largely unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of growth and hormonal receptors in OSCC patients and correlate it with 10-year, overall and disease-free survival. To achieve this objective, immunohistochemistry for Her-2, AR, ER and PR was performed on 100 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary OSCC specimens. Receptor expression was correlated with mouth habits and clinicopathological features and patient survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression univariate analysis. We observed that in 100 patients, there were 57 males and 43 females. Immunopositive Her-2 expression was observed in 21% of patients, AR in 13%, ER in 3% and 0% for PR. Patients with betel quid/areca nut mouth habits had significantly absent Her-2 expression (P=0.035). Also, Her-2 negative patients were also negative for AR expression (P=0.002). Her-2 positive patients had poor 10-year survival (P=0.041). A trend of low survival and high recurrence rate was observed in AR positive patients, but this was not significant (P=0.072). No statistically relevant correlations were seen in the case of ER and PR. In conclusion, Her-2 may be a valuable marker for predicting long-term prognosis of OSCC patients.