Cysts of the jaws: A multicentre study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relative frequency, demographic and pathologic profiles of patients diagnosed with cysts of the jaws. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Biopsy records of the participating institutions from 2000 to 2020 were reviewed for lesions diagnosed in the cyst category. Demographic data, the location of the cysts and pathologic diagnoses were collected. Data were analyzed by appropriate statistics using IBM SPSS software version 28.0. RESULTS: From 148,353 accessioned cases, 25,628 cases (17.28%) were diagnosed in the cyst category. Mean age of the patients ± SD = 42.62 ± 19.36 years. Paediatric patients (aged ≤ 16 years) accounted for 9.63%, while geriatric patients (aged ≥ 65) comprised 14.22% of all the patients. The male-to-female ratio was 1.27:1. The majority of the lesions were encountered in the mandible. The most prevalent cyst was radicular cyst followed by dentigerous cyst and odontogenic keratocyst. In the paediatric group, dentigerous cyst was the most prevalent, whereas in the geriatric group, radicular cyst was the most common. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the results of this study are in accordance with previous studies. This study provides an invaluable database for clinicians when formulating clinical differential diagnoses as well as for pathologists in rendering the final diagnosis.

Relationship Between O-GlcNAcase Expression and Prognosis of Patients With Osteosarcoma.

Several studies have demonstrated a role of O-GlcNAcylation (O-GlcNAc) in tumorigenesis of various carcinomas by modification of tumor-associated proteins. However, its implication in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the levels of O-GlcNAc and the expressions of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA) in human osteosarcoma tissues, by using immunohistochemistry; and to find correlations between the levels or expressions and several clinicopathologic parameters. There were 109 first diagnosed osteosarcoma patients, including Enneking stage IIB (n=70) and III (n=39). Correlations between the immunoreactive score (IRS) and clinicopathologic parameters, overall survival, and metastasis-free survival were evaluated. A positive correlation was found between the IRS of OGA and the percentage of postchemotherapeutic tumor necrosis (r=0.308; P=0.017). Univariate analysis revealed significantly lower OGA IRS in metastatic patients (P=0.020) and poor chemotherapeutic-responder patients (P=0.001). By multivariate analysis, presence of tumor metastasis (P=0.002) and lower OGA IRS (P=0.004) was significantly associated with shorter overall survival. Subgroup analysis in stage IIB osteosarcoma (n=70) demonstrated that male sex (P=0.019), presence of tumor recurrence (P=0.026), poor chemotherapeutic responder (P=0.022), and lower OGA IRS (P=0.019) were significantly correlated with short metastasis-free survival. But, lower OGA IRS was the only independent predictor for short metastasis-free survival (P=0.006). Our findings suggested that O-GlcNAc pathway, especially OGA, may involve in pathogenesis and aggressiveness of osteosarcoma. Low level of OGA expression may be used as a poor prognostic indicator.

Pigmented Oral Lesions: A Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical features of pigmented oral lesions from Thailand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Biopsy records of the Department of Oral Pathology, Chulalongkorn University, Department of Oral Diagnosis, KhonKaen University, Department of Oral Biology and Oral Diagnostic Sciences, Chiangmai University, Department of Stomatology, Prince of Songkla University, and Rangsit University were reviewed for oral pigmented lesions diagnosed during 1999 to 2019. Demographic data were culled from the biopsy records. Ages of the patients were subdivided into 10-year intervals. Locations of the lesions were classified as gingiva, labial/buccal mucosa, palate, floor of the mouth, tongue, as well as the combination of sites. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: Of the 47,175 accessioned cases, 241 cases (0.51%) were diagnosed in the category of pigmented oral lesions. The age of the patients ranged from 1 month to 88 years with the mean ± standard deviation = 38.74 ± 20.96 years. Regarding gender, 172 patients (71.37%) with pigmented lesions were females, while 69 patients (28.63%) were males. The female-to-male ratio was 2.49:1. The majority of the pigmented lesions were encountered at the gingiva (29.88%) followed by labial/buccal mucosa (26.97%), palate (14.94%), lip (10.79%), alveolar mucosa (9.54%), and others (7.88%), respectively. The three most common pigmented oral lesions in the present study were nevus (39.83%), followed by melanotic macule (28.63%) and amalgam tattoo (17.43%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The most common pigmented oral lesion in the present study is nevus. Demographic data of the patients in the present study are in accordance with previous studies with minor differences. Even though pigmented lesions of the oral cavity constitute a small portion of the oral pathology biopsies, accurate diagnosis is important since there is an overlap in clinical appearance of benign pigmented lesions and melanoma.

The differences in mitochondrial function, mitochondrial dynamics, and cell death between odontogenic cysts/tumors and normal dental follicles.

We aimed to compare mitochondrial function, mitochondrial dynamics, apoptosis, and necroptosis between odontogenic cysts/tumors, including radicular cysts, dentigerous cysts, ameloblastoma, vs. dental follicles as control. We demonstrated that mitochondrial dysregulation and imbalanced mitochondrial dynamics were observed in ameloblastoma. Apoptosis was increased in dentigerous cysts, and ameloblastoma, while necroptosis was suppressed in ameloblastoma. Necroptosis in radicular cysts was higher than that of control, suggesting that the inflammation-associated cell death occurred in radicular cysts. Our findings suggest ameloblastoma exhibited mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased mitochondrial fusion, and potential apoptosis. Therefore, alleviating mitochondrial dysregulation and apoptosis may be novel-targeted therapy for odontogenic cysts and tumors.

A Multicenter Study of Tongue Lesions from Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: Tongue lesions constitute a considerable proportion of the oral lesions. Previous studies on tongue lesions were based on clinical studies. There has been a scarcity of the studies which are based on histopathological examination. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, demographic, and pathologic features of tongue lesions from Thailand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Biopsy records of the participating institutions were reviewed for lesions on the tongue diagnosed during 1998 to 2017. Demographic data were collected from the biopsy records. Locations were arbitrarily classified as dorsal, lateral, and ventral surfaces, tip of the tongue, and the combination of sites. Lesions of the tongue were classified as reactive/inflammatory, developmental, immune-mediated, cystic, benign, premalignant, malignant, infectious, and miscellaneous categories. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: Of the 44,188 accessioned cases, 2,153 cases (4.87%) were diagnosed from the tongue. The age of the patients ranged from 3 to 93 years with the mean ± standard deviation = 45.26 ± 20.48 years. The female-to-male ratio was 1.49:1. The majority of the tongue lesions were encountered at the lateral border of the tongue (47.66%). Most of the tongue lesions in the present study (53.74%) fell into the reactive/inflammatory category. Irritation fibroma was the most prevalent lesion (18.99%) followed by squamous cell carcinoma (16.91%), and mucus extravasation phenomenon (14.26%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers new perspective into the study of tongue lesions apart from the clinically based studies. It also demonstrates the difference between the pediatric and the elderly patients. This study provides invaluable database for clinicians when formulating the clinical diagnosis of tongue lesions.

Saliva-Based Screening of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Strains: Detection in Female Indonesian and Thai Dental Students.

BACKGROUND: Currently it is believed that human papillomaviruses (HPV) are associated with the development of some oral/oropharyngeal cancers. It has been suggested that these viruses influence carcinogenesis in both smokers and non-smokers. Data on the prevalence of HPV in healthy adults are thus needed to estimate the risk of oral/oropharyngeal cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of oral HPV in healthy female adults in Indonesia and Thailand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Healthy female students from the Faculties of Dentistry of Universitas Indonesia and Chiang Mai University were asked to participate in this pilot study. DNA was extracted from saliva specimens and screened for HPV16 and HPV18 using PCR. RESULTS: The age, marital status and sexual experience of the subjects between the two countries were not significantly different. Eight (4%) and 4 (2%) samples were positive for HPV16 and HPV18, respectively. Fisher's Exact test found a significant difference between HPV16 positivity in subjects who were married and had sexual intercourse but not for HPV18. CONCLUSIONS: This study successfully detected presence of HPV16 and HPV18 DNA in a number of saliva samples from female dental school students. Marital status, experience of sexual intercourse and safe sexual practice are related to the possibility of finding HPV DNA finding in saliva. Dentists, physicians and other health care professionals may gain significant value from the findings of this study, which provide an understanding of the nature of HPV infection and its risk to patient health and disease.