Background: BMI1, TWIST1 and SNAI2/SLUG have been implicated in aggressive behavior of squamous cellcarcinoma (SCC) and melanoma and BMI1 expression could identify subtypes of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).However, BMI1, TWIST1 and SNAI2 expression levels in basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) have not been elucidated.We hypothesized BCC could be a good model system to decipher mechanisms which inhibit processes that drivetumor metastasis. The aim of this study was to examine the mRNA expression level of BMI1, TWIST1, and SNAI2in BCCs. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five fresh non-metastatic BCC tissue samples and seven fresh normalskin tissue samples were evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. Results: BMI1 and TWIST1 demonstrated markeddown-regulation (p<0.00l, p=0.00l respectively), but SNAI2 showed no significant change (p=0.12). Conclusions:Previous literature has clearly demonstrated a positive association between BMI1 and TWIST1 expression andmetastatic BCC, aggressive SCC and melanoma. Here, we demonstrated a negative association between BMI1and TWIST1 mRNA expression level and BCC.
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