Increased expression of COX-2 in recurrent basal cell carcinoma of the skin: a pilot study

• Published in: Indian journal of pathology & microbiology Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 526 - 531
• Main Authors: Karahan, Nermin, Baspinar, Sirin, Bozkurt, Kemal Kursat, Caloglu, Eylem, Ciris, Ibrahim Metin, Kapucuoglu, Nilgun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01.07.2011; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Basal cell carcinoma; Carcinoma, Basal Cell - pathology; Care and treatment; COX-2; COX-2 inhibitors; Cyclooxygenase 2 - biosynthesis; Female; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Genetic aspects; Humans; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 - biosynthesis; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 - biosynthesis; Middle Aged; MMP-2; MMP-9; Physiological aspects; Pilot Projects; Recurrence; Skin - pathology; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; India
• ISSN: 0377-4929; 0974-5130
• DOI: 10.4103/0377-4929.85086

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent malignant skin tumor. BCC rarely metastasizes, but it is often locally aggressive. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is critical for tumor formation, angiogenesis and metastasis. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the members of the family of zinc (Zn)- and calcium-dependent endopeptidases that degrade the extracellular matrix. In our study, we used immunohistochemical methods for the evaluation of COX-2, MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in tissue samples of 30 primary and 10 recurrent skin BCC cases. Immunohistochemical COX-2 expression was significantly higher in the infiltrating pattern of BCC compared with the nodular (P = 0.005) and superficial (P = 0.041) subtypes in the primary BCC group. There was not a significant difference between nodular and superficial BCCs for COX-2 expression. In addition, COX-2 expression was significantly higher in the recurrent BCC group than in the primary BCC group (P = 0.030). There was no statistically significant difference between the histological subtypes of primary BCCs and between primary and recurrent BCCs for MMP-2 and MMP-9 expressions. Our data confirm previous findings that COX-2 and MMP-9 expressions are increased in BCC. Our results revealed an elevated COX-2 expression in recurrent BCCs. We suggest that COX-2 inhibition might have beneficial effects in BCCs, especially for the tumors with a higher level of COX-2 expression or aggressive phenotype.