Uncommon presentation of desmoplastic fibroblastoma on the tongue of a female patient.

Desmoplastic fibroblastoma (DF) is a rare benign soft tissue with spindle-to-stellate-shaped fibroblasts and myofibroblasts embedded in a prominent collagenous background. DF, mainly affecting subcutaneous and muscle tissue, very rarely occurs in the oral cavity. Hitherto, only one case of DF on the tongue has been reported. Here, we report another case. A 66-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a mass formation in the tongue. On examination, a well-circumscribed, elastic, soft tumour with normal surface mucosa, measuring 13×12 mm, was observed on the left dorsal surface of her tongue. MRI and ultrasonography confirmed the mass, and a benign tongue tumour was suspected. The tumour was surgically resected under general anaesthesia 1 month later, leading to the histopathological diagnosis of DF. She experienced an uneventful clinical recovery after surgery, with no recurrence noted for more than 1 year postoperatively.

Induction and Analysis of Cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes that Recognize Autologous Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: It is essential that cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) recognize tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and exhibit antitumor effects in immunological responses for tumor rejection. However, only a few cases with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have been studied for these antitumor mechanisms. We established a cancer cell line and autologous CTL pair for identifying TAAs in OSCC, despite difficulties in establishing such a pair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cell line (OTM) from a primary lesion and a CTL line (TcOTM) were derived from OSCC in a 64-year-old female patient. CTL clones were generated by repetitive limiting dilutions. Accurate characterization was performed by in vitro analysis. RESULTS: The TcOTM clone showed specific cytotoxic activity against OTM cells in an human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A24-restricted manner. Furthermore, it exerted cytotoxicity against the allogenic HLA-A24 cell lines. CONCLUSION: These data indicated that the TcOTM clone recognized a TAA presented by HLA-A24 cells. This unique method will allow for identification of unknown TAAs for OSCC in the future.

Hypoxia-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition is regulated by phosphorylation of GSK3-ß via PI3 K/Akt signaling in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in cancer invasion and metastasis induced by hypoxia. Here, we examined whether phosphorylation of GSK3-ß via phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3 K)/Akt signaling is involved in enhancing the hypoxia-induced EMT in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). STUDY DESIGN: Experiments were performed in OSCC cell lines (HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4, SAS, and HO-1-U-1) under normoxic or hypoxic conditions. The EMT was assessed by Matrigel invasion assays and wound healing assays. OSCC cell lines (HSC-2 and HSC-4) overexpressing hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α were established to examine the effects of HIF-1α on EMT-related factors. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to examine phosphorylation of GSK3-ß in 33 cases of tongue squamous cell carcinoma. RESULTS: Under hypoxic conditions, OSCC cell lines exhibited HIF-1α expression and showed evidence of the EMT. In cells overexpressing HIF-1α, the levels of phospho-Akt and phospho-GSK3-ß were increased, resulting in induction of the EMT. Inhibition of GSK3-ß phosphorylation suppressed these effects. Moreover, the intensity of pGSK3-ß staining was significantly increased with cN stage and cTNM stage in patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed that the hypoxia-induced EMT in OSCC was enhanced by GSK3-ß phosphorylation, suggesting that GSK3-ß may be important in the invasion and metastasis of OSCC.