Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine whether alterations in the expression of p53, caspase-3 Bcl-2, and ki-67 appear early in premalignant oral epithelium and show clonal behavior.Study Design: Samples from 41 tumors with their adjacent non-tumor epithelia were immunohistochemically analyzed using monoclonal antibodies that recognize p53, caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Ki-67Results: A statistically significant association was found between the expression in tumor and adjacent epithelium of p53, caspase-3, and Bcl-2 but not of k-67. This evidence concerns the gene CASP3 and neoplasm.