Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) can play an important role in carcinogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). EMT is characterized by morphological and phenotypical change of epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells, and transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin, Snail is critical for EMT. In order to investigate the role of Snail and E-cadherin in OSCC, we analyzed the immunohistochemical pattern of Snail and E-cadherin in 18 OSCCs. The expression of Snail in the OSCC was increased whereas the expression of E-cadherin in the OSCC was decreased in comparison with those of normal oral mucosa, showing reverse correlation. Especially, the fibroblasts near the islands of OSCC showed the positivity of Snail, suggesting the reactive fibroblasts to the EMT of epithelial tumor cells. In metastatic squamous cell carcinoma in cervical lymph node, the positivity of Snail of tumor cells was higher than that of primary OSCC. We concluded that the increased Snail expression and the decreased E-cadherin expression were involved in the progression, invasion and metastasis of OSCC.

I. 서론
 II. 재료 및 방법
  1. 연구 대상
  2. 연구 방법
  3. 통계 처리
 III. 연구 결과
  1. 연구 대상자의 임상적 특징
  2. 면역조직화학염색 결과
 IV. 고찰
 V. 결론
 VI. 참고문헌

• 유미현(남서울대학교 치위생학과) | Mi Heon Ryu
• 육종인(연세대학교 치과대학 구강병리학교실, 연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소) | Jong In Yook
• 김남희(연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소) | Nam Hee Kim
• 고현석(연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소) | Hyun Seok Ko
• 백정미(연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소) | Jeong Mi Baik
• 박정국(연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소) | Zheng Guo Piao
• 이상휘(연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소, 연세대학교 치과대학 구강악안면외과학교실, 구강과학연구소) | Sang Hwy Lee
• 김수아(연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소, 동국대학교 한의과대학 생화학교실) | Soo A Kim
• 김현실(연세대학교 치과대학 구강종양연구소) | Hyun Sil Kim correspondence