Oral leukoplakias with different degrees of dysplasia: comparative study of hMLH1, p53, and AgNOR

Abstract

Alterations in the immunoexpression pattern of hMLH1 and p53 seemed to be early events in oral carcinogenesis. During acquisition of a more dysplastic phenotype, keratinocytes may show diminished capacity of DNA repair and tumor suppression, as well as higher cellular proliferation, and these pathways can be somehow interconnected.