Abstract

Background: Oral cancer represents the sixth most common cancer in the world and is associated with 40-50% survival at 5 years. Within oral malignancies, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is commonly preceded by potentially malignant lesions, which, according to histopathological criteria, are referred to as oral dysplasia and their diagnosis are associated with higher rates of malignant transformation towards cancer. We recently reported that aberrant activation of the Wnt/beta catenin pathway is due to overexpression of Wnt ligands in oral dysplasia. However, the expression of other regulators of this pathway, namely components of the beta-catenin destruction complex has not been explored in oral dysplasia.