OCA2 and oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: This study aims to examine the expression of three closely linked proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC); protein deglycase (DJ-1), an oncogene, phosphatase, and tensin homolog (PTEN), a tumor suppressor gene, and phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt), the activated form of a vital serine/threonine kinase, which is involved in the oncogenesis of several human malignancies, throughout the tumor progression steps to establish their potential as prognostic biomarkers.