Cancer Therapy: A Continuance of Health Burden.

BACKGROUND: Cancer diagnosis coupled with emotional impact converge to create one of the most difficult physical and emotional periods of life. Cancer treatment causes plethora of short and long term complications which can be so debilitating that patient may interrupt treatment. Pretreatment oral assessment and supportive oral care during and after cancer therapy can increase quality of life and supportive care costs. METHODS: Study was conducted on 189 patients (86: head and neck cancer cases, group I and 103: other than head and neck cancer cases, group II) receiving cancer therapy. Patients were subjected to clinical assessment and findings were recorded in specially designed proforma and complete oral (objective and subjective) and constitutional findings were recorded. RESULTS: Among the patients undergoing chemotherapy in both groups, prevalence of oral findings was found to be highest with methotrexate whereas constitutional symptoms was found to be highest with doxyrubicin. Whereas in radiotherapy patients subjective and objective oral symptoms increased from 10th - 30th fractionated dose of radiations and then subsequently decreased and constitutional symptoms were found to be consistent in all fractionated dosages with lowest at 50th fraction. Under combined chemo and radiotherapy patients, constitutional symptoms were highest than the oral findings. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer therapy can greatly damage the normal tissues and diminish patients quality of life and often leads to serious clinical sequelae. Therefore, therapy induced damage should be anticipated and prevented whenever possible and managed early.

Dental cementum in age estimation: a polarized light and stereomicroscopic study.

Dental hard tissues are good candidates for age estimation as they are less destructive and procedures to determine age can be easily performed. Although cementum annulations and cementum thickness are important parameters in this regard, they are seldom used. This study was undertaken to review the methods, difficulties in execution of techniques, and accuracy of cementum thickness and annulations in estimating the age. Unstained and stained ground sections of tooth were used to measure cemental thickness and count cemental annulations based on which age was estimated and was compared with known age. Although there was positive relation between cemental thickness and annulations with age, only in 1-1.5% of cases, age could be predicted with accuracy.

Morphometric computer-assisted image analysis of oral epithelial cells in normal epithelium and leukoplakia.

BACKGROUND: There are very few studies documenting morphometric parameters of normal oral mucosa and leukoplakia. The present study was undertaken to establish the morphometric parameters of the parabasal and spinous cells of normal oral epithelium. Analysis of changes occurring in these cells in leukoplakia was also done. METHODS: This study was conducted on tissue sections of clinically normal oral mucosa and leukoplakia. Morphometric analysis was done for parabasal and spinous cells. Statistical analysis was done using one way ANOVA and Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Morphometric parameters were greater in the spinous cells than in parabasal cells in normal oral mucosa. Leukoplakia showed greater cellular and nuclear parameters than normal mucosa. CONCLUSION: Normal oral epithelium showed site-wise difference in cell and nuclear measurements. Nuclear parameters showed a statistically significant change than cellular parameters in dysplasia. These changes were expressed in the earliest stage of transformation to dysplasia.