Comparison of COX2 expression in radiation induced basal cell carcinoma and non-radiation induced basal cell carcinoma

Background: radiation-induced basal cell carcinoma (bcc) can be multiple, large, and recurring, which complicates its treatment in some cases. according to reports on the role of cyclooxygenase 2 (cox2) inhibitors in the treatment or prevention of non-melanoma skin cancers and considering the fact that cox2 expression has not been evaluated in radiation-induced basal cell carcinoma, we set out to assess the expression of cox2 in these lesions. methods: in this study, cox2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry using anti-cox2 antibody on paraffinembedded blocks of 86 patients referred to emam reza hospital in mashhad with bcc diagnosis by pathological examination (43 patients with and 43 without a history of radiotherapy) followed by semi-quantitative evaluation of cox2. results: in our study, cox2 expression score was significantly higher in patients with a history of radiotherapy than those without radiotherapy (p<0.001). no correlation was found between the intensity and percentage of staining with sex, age, site of lesion, recurrence, and pathology of the tumor. conclusion: given the higher expression level of cox2 in the radiation-induced bcc patients, the use of cox2 inhibitors in these individuals may be effective in the incidence, recurrence, or treatment of bcc.