Correlation of CA19-9 and P57 (KiP2) Expression with Tumor Grade and Invasive Front in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most widely occurring cancers worldwide. Early diagnosis of primary tumors is the key to improve treatment outcome. Detecting cancer, determining prognosis, and monitoring disease progression or treatment response can be done based on molecular markers. CA19-9 is an isolated form of Lewis antigen. It is widely used for detecting pancreatic cancer in the clinical setting. P57 (KiP2) is a tumor suppressor gene. It is a positive regulator of cell proliferation, regulating proliferation through G1 phase by inhibiting cyclin dependent kinases. Its expression decreases in most malignancies. OSCC has variable differentiation grades and local invasion potential. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate and assess the correlation of CA19-9 and P57 expression with invasive front and grade of OSCC. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This cross-sectional study was performed on forty paraffin blocks in three histologic grades; well, moderate, and poorly differentiated SCC. The two markers were assessed by immunohistochemistry methods (En vision). Proportional and total scores and staining intensity were measured for all samples. RESULTS: CA19-9 staining was low in all three grades. The Kruskal Wallis test showed no significant correlation between tumor grade and CA19-9 expression; however, there was a significant difference between tumor intensity and margin intensity (p= 0.003). P57 staining was high in all three grades. The Kruskal Wallis test showed no significant correlation between tumor grade and P57 expression. There were no significant differences in total intensity of staining in margins of tumor (p= 0.85). CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, it may be concluded that expression of CA19-9 and P57 cannot be used as determinants of tumor grade. Higher expression of CA19-9 in invasive front of SCC can be representative of local invasion and higher activity of tumor cells in the margins.

Establishment and Characterization of Primary Cultures from Iranian Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients by Enzymatic Method and Explant Culture.

OBJECTIVES: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is the most frequent oral cancer worldwide. It is known as the eighth most common cancer in men and as the fifth most common cancer in women. Cytogenetic and biochemical studies in recent decades have emphasized the necessity of providing an appropriate tool for such researches. Cancer cell culture is a useful tool for investigations on biochemical, genetic, molecular and immunological characteristics of different cancers, including oral cancer. Here, we explain the establishment process of five primary oral cancer cells derived from an Iranian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The specimens were obtained from five oral cancer patients. Enzymatic, explant culture and magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) methods were used for cell isolation. After quality control tests, characterization and authentication of primary oral cancer cells were performed by short tandem repeats (STR) profiling, chromosome analysis, species identification, and monitoring the growth, morphology and the expression of CD326 and CD133 markers. RESULTS: Five primary oral cancer cells were established from an Iranian population. The flow cytometry results showed that the isolated cells were positive for CD326 and CD133 markers. Furthermore, the cells were free from mycoplasma, bacterial and fungal contamination. No misidentified or cross-contaminated cells were detected by STR analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Human primary oral cancer cells provide an extremely useful platform for studying carcinogenesis pathways of oral cancer in Iranian population. They may be helpful in explaining the ethnic differences in cancer biology and the individuality in anticancer drug response in future studies.

In Vitro Spectrophotometry of Tooth Discoloration Induced by Tooth-Colored Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Calcium-Enriched Mixture Cement.

INTRODUCTION: There are numerous factors that can lead to tooth discoloration after endodontic treatment, such as penetration of endodontic materials into the dentinal tubules during root canal treatment. The aim of this in vitro study was to compare discoloration induced by tooth colored mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement in extracted human teeth. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Thirty two dentin-enamel cuboid blocks (7×7×2 mm) were prepared from extracted maxillary central incisors. Standardized cavities were prepared in the middle of each cube, leaving 1 mm of enamel and dentin on the labial surface. The specimens were randomly divided into two study groups (n=12) and two positive and negative control groups (n=4). In either study groups the cavities were filled with MTA or CEM cement. The positive and negative control groups were filled with blood or left empty, respectively. The cavities were sealed with composite resin and stored in normal saline. Color measurement was carried out by spectrophotometry at different time intervals including before (T0), and 1 week (T1), 1 month (T2) and 6 months (T3) after placement of materials. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare the discoloration between the groups; the material type was considered as the inter-subject factor. The level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: No significant differences were detected between the groups in all time intervals (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Tooth discoloration was similarly detectable with both of the two experimental materials.

A 10-year retrospective study on odontogenic tumors in Iran.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to review cases of odontogenic tumors diagnosed in two pathology centers in Tehran, Iran, during a 10-year period. STUDY DESIGN: Patients' records were seen at two teaching pathology Centre's of Shahid Beheshti University between the months of March 2000 to 2010 with histologic diagnosis of any type of odontogenic tumors. The records were analyzed for frequency, age, sex, site, as well as clinical, radiographic and histopathologic findings. RESULTS: Of 30706 biopsies, 4767 (15.5%) cases were diagnosed as oral and maxillofacial lesions. Among these, 720 cases were tumoral with 188 (26.1%) cases of odontogenic tumors. Tumors with odontogenic epithelium origin formed 70.2% of total numbers of odontogenic tumors. Mixed odontogenic tumors and tumors of odontogenic ectomesenchyme comprised 12.2% and 17.5% of the cases respectively. Ameloblastoma, with a frequency of 62.2% was the most common tumor in this review which was followed by odontoma and odontogenic myxoma. CONCLUSION: Although there are few studies on odontogenic tumors in literature, the comparison of our results with existing data shows significant differences in the distribution of tumors and age of patients, which may be due to ethnic features and geographic distribution of patients. Future studies on other ethnic groups are essential for further clarification of the findings in this research.

A 10-year retrospective study on malignant jaw tumors in Iran.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to review cases of malignant tumors of jaw bones diagnosed in 2 pathology centers in Tehran, Iran, during a 10-year period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients' records were seen at 2 teaching pathology centers of Shahid Beheshti University between March 1999 and March 2009 with histologic diagnosis of any type of malignant jaw tumors. The records were analyzed for frequency, age, sex, site, as well as clinical, radiographic, and histopathologic findings. RESULTS: Of 30,706 biopsies, 4767 (15.5%) were diagnosed as oral and maxillofacial lesions. Among these, 720 cases were tumoral and 67 cases were malignant jaw tumors. Osteosarcoma (41.79%) was the most common tumor in this review, which was followed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma and ameloblastic carcinoma, respectively. Patients' ages ranged from 9 to 71 years, with a mean of 38 years and male predominance. CONCLUSIONS: There are limited studies on malignant jaw tumors in literature, but comparing our result with the available data, there were differences regarding frequency and age distribution. This may be related to racial and geographic characteristics. More studies on other population are needed.