Abstract:

Objective To investigate the expression of ezrin in seborrheic keratosis （SK）, basal cell carcinoma （BCC）, squamous cell carcinoma （SCC） and its relation to clinical pathology parameters. Methods Skin samples were collected from 36 patients with SCC, 27 patients with BCC, 20 patients with SK and 10 normal human controls. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression of ezrin in these samples. The relationship between ezrin expression and prognosis of SCC was assessed using COX regression analysis. Results The positivity rate of ezrin in SK，BCC and SCC samples was 25.0%, 66.7%, 91.3%, respectively, compared to 20.0% in normal controls. Compared with the controls, a significant increase was observed in the expression of ezrin in patients with BCC and SCC （both P < 0.05）, but not in those with SK （P > 0.05）. Moreover, increased expression level of ezrin was correlated with a high degree of tumor malignancy, advanced pathological stage, and occurrence of lymph node metastasis of SCC （r ＝ 0.87, 0.80, 0.89, respectively, all P < 0.01）. COX regression analysis revealed that the expression level of ezrin was an independent factor for the prognosis of SCC. Conclusion The expression level of ezrin is closely related to the malignancy of skin tumors, pathological grading and lymph node metastasis of SCC.