Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) ranks as the sixth most prevalent cancer globally, with approximately one third of cases originating from India. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is expressed essentially in tumor cells and is considered as a marker for tumor hypoxia. The present study aims to assess the association between immunohistochemical expression of CA IX in the tumor cells and the clinicopathological parameters of OSCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a 1 year retrospective study performed in a tertiary care teaching hospital. All radical specimens of OSCC were included in the study, and histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis for CA IX expression was performed manually in all cases. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the IBM Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 26) (Armonk, New York, USA). The Chi squared test was used to calculate the value of significance (P). RESULTS: Of the 39 OSCCs included in the present study, 41.02% cases showed expression of CA IX. CA IX expression was seen to be significantly associated with presence of lymphovascular invasion, higher T and N stages, and higher depth of invasion. CONCLUSION: High CA IX expression in OSCC is a poor prognostic factor, and in view of availability of CAIX targeted therapeutic agents, it is essential to further study its use in treatment of such cases.