| Summary: | Objective: The objective of this prospective observational case–control study is to evaluate the prevalence of <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i> in the tissues of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Reconnoitering the CCL20-related mechanism of carcinogenesis in <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i>-positive OSCC is another objective. Methodology: Tissues from 50 OSCC patients and 30 healthy oral tissues were collected. The prevalence of <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i> was evaluated in both tumour and healthy tissue by polymerase chain reaction. The immunohistochemistry of OSCC tissues was conducted to evaluate the difference in the expression of CCL20 between <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i>-positive and -negative OSCC tissues. Results: <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i> was significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001) prevalent in OSCC tissues (74%), compared to healthy tissues (26%). No association of <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i> or CCL20 immuno-expression with any clinical or histopathological features of OSCC was observed. While the intensity of CCL20 immuno-expression did not differ (<i>p</i> = 0.053), the CCL20-positive cell population was significantly different (<i>p</i> = 0.034) between <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i>-positive and -negative OSCC. Conclusion: <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i> is possibly prevalent in oral cancer tissues in the Indian population. By using immunohistochemistry, this is the first study to propose that the carcinogenesis in <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i>-positive OSCC may be CCL20-related. The findings enrich the knowledge of mechanisms involved in <i>Fusobacterium nucleatum</i>-mediated oral carcinogenesis.
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