Ismail Mohamed Ismail
1* 
, Hussein Abdel-moneim Hassan
1 , Sarah AlFarabi Ali
2 , Madawi Alkeheli
2 , Sahar Bukhary
3, Ahoud Jazzar
2 , Nada A. Alhindi
2 , Hanan Ali Amin
4,5 , Bahaa Mohammed Badr
6 , Jana Fathelbab
7 , Ghada Sabbah Ibrahim Radwan
8 , Nadia Attia Radi
9 1 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assuit, Egypt
2 Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA
3 Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA
4 Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, KSA
5 Department of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
6 Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Zarqa, Jordan
7 Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
8 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
9 Department of Oral and Dental Pathology, Faculty of Dental Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
Introduction: The predominant head and neck cancers arise from the mucosal epithelium located in the oral cavity, throat, and larynx. These malignancies are typically termed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Objectives: This study aims to examine the immune-expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in HNSCC.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we conducted the link between PD-L1and EGFR proteins with the clinicopathological features of the cancer. Our study included 50 patients that have been histologically diagnosed with HNSCC, and patients who were diagnosed with other types of malignancies, especially in the new cases of human papillomavirus and triple-negative breast cancer.
Results: This study analyzed a total of 50 instances of HNSCC, which are classified based on their T, N, and TNM stages. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that 68% of patients exhibited immunopositivity, primarily in the tumor cell membrane and cytoplasm. There was no notable link between the expression of PD-L1 and factors such as gender, age, or tumor site. Additionally, a positive expression of PD-L1 was identified in 87.5% of patients (P = 0.203), across with no significant correlation of PD-L1 expression and tumor differentiation.
Conclusion: This study revealed that more than two-thirds of cases with HNSCC exhibit PD-L1 expression. However, patient characteristics such as age, gender, and tumor site were not shown to have any influence on EGFR expression.