Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine - Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNCCC) is the sixth most common cancer with a global incidence of half a million new cases diagnosed per year, around half of these cases are oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Though many risk factors have been implicated in the development of OSCC, the most important are cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and betel-quid chewing. Evidences suggested that viruses are involved in oral carcinogenesis and there has been a growing interest in studying this correlation.Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the global prevalence of HCV virus to be 3% and it infects more than 170 million people worldwide. Egypt is considered to have the highest prevalence rate throughout the world, with 14.7% of the total population showing HCV seropositivity as estimated by the Egyptian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS). Furthermore, HCV was detected in different organs other than the liver. Where the oral cavity is one of the most frequently reported extra-hepatic disease site associated with HCV infection. It has been suggested that HCV is a possible triggering factor for precancerous and cancerous oral lesions. Aim: Immunohistochemical detection of HCV core antigen in oral squamous cell carcinoma in comparison with normal mucosa tissues (control), to detect the possible relationship between HCV and OSCC. Material and Methods: A total of 50 archival paraffin embedded specimens were collected (25 OSCC specimens that were age and gender

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