Correlation of Mast Cells and Angiogenesis in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Verrucous Carcinoma

Aim: Presence of Mast cells (MCs) near capillary sprouting sites suggests an association between MCs and anigogenesis. MCs are well recognized as being important in the generation of angiogenic response via the release of heparin and histamine and release and/or activation of extracellular matrix modified enzymes. Thus study was done to histologically evaluate and correlate the number of MCs and angiogenesis in different grades of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) and Verrucous Carcinoma (VC). Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to elaborate upon the correlation between MCs and tumor angiogenesis. Microvessel density (MVD) was detected by immune-histochemical staining using anti CD34 monoclonal antibody and Mast cell density (MCD) was detected by toluidine blue staining. Results: The results showed a significant correlation in the mean MVD and the mean MCD (r= 0.75, p<0.001) in Well Differentiated OSCC. However, in the other grades of carcinoma and normal tissue there was no significant correlation between the mean MVD and MCD. Conclusion: MC accumulation in tumors is probably a part of response to tumor derived chemoattractants. From our study and previous literature, there is an evidence that MCs in tumors are potentially angiogenic, but at the same time are pro-inflammatory and immunoamplifying in action.