Immunohistochemical Study of Progesterone Receptor Expression in Pleomorphic Adenoma and Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Salivary Gland.

Abstract

Background: Progesterone (PR) plays a role in the differentiation and growth of various tissues. One of the most common carcinogenic mechanisms of PR is increasing cell proliferation and inhibiting their apoptosis. There are contradictory results from various studies about the expression level of PR receptors in salivary tumors.

Purpose: Considering the sporadic studies and the contradictory results, this study was conducted to determine the expression level of PR receptor in the most common benign and malignant salivary gland tumors.

Materials and method: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 58 paraffinized blocks (36 pleomorphic adenoma samples and 22 mucoepidermoid carcinoma samples) were selected. PR receptor immunohistochemical staining was performed on the samples and the resulting slides were examined under a light microscope with 100x magnification. The gleaned data were analyzed with SPSS25 using descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, and Chi-square test.

Results: Out of 36 pleomorphic adenoma samples, one sample expressed PR receptor moderately and two expressed it weakly. Besides, out of 22 mucoepidermoid carcinoma samples, only one sample expressed PR receptor. The comparison of PR receptor expression between two groups was not statistically significant (p Value=0.719).

Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that PR receptor cannot probably play a direct role in carcinogenesis and prognosis of benign and malignant salivary tumors.