Introduction: Ameloblastoma is a benign odontogenic neoplasm with a high risk of recurrence. Ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts are associated with tumor growth and invasion however, a few studies have evaluated the immunohistochemical characteristics of stromal fibroblasts and their association with recurrence in Ameloblastoma. Galectin-3 (gal-3) is a member of the B-galactoside bonding protein family that is involved in the growth of fibroblasts and their conversion to myofibroblasts. This study aimed to investigate the expression of gal-3 in ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts and its association with recurrence.
Materials and Methods: Forty-eight samples with the diagnosis of ameloblastoma were included in the study. gal-3 expression in stromal fibroblasts was determined using immunohistochemical staining. We also extracted clinical, radiographic, and histological variables from the archived patients' recordings.
Results: Thirty-four (70.8%) cases showed nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of gal-3. Four (8.3%) cases revealed only cytoplasmic expression and three cases (6.3%) showed only nuclear positivity for gal-3. We found no statistically significant relationship between tumor recurrence and recurrence-free survival with immunoreactivity for gal-3(Log-rank analysis: P=0.248 and P=0.555, respectively. Cox regression: P=0.272 and P=0.572, respectively).
Conclusion: Gal-3 expression was seen in most samples. This protein could be one of the effective proteins in the function of ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts however, it was not associated with the tumor recurrence and could not be used as a prognostic factor.
Mahdavi N, Derakhshan S, Heidari N. Evaluation of galectin-3 expression in ameloblastoma stromal fibroblasts and its association with recurrence. Koomesh 2022; 24 (4) :510-517 URL: http://koomeshjournal.semums.ac.ir/article-1-6981-en.html