Mast cell density in the primary tumor predicts lymph node metastases in patients with breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BrCa) is the most frequent neoplastic disease in female, with high morbidity and mortality. Most of the researches were focused on tumor cells concerning their natural evolution, molecular profile, and potential response to therapy. Few and uncertain data are available about the tumor microenvironment and its impact on the progression of the disease. Mast cells (MCs) associated to BrCa have been reported many years ago, but their real and specific role in the biology of this disease remained elusive. In the current study, we have investigated the predictive role of MCs from the primary tumor on lymph node metastasis on patients stratified based on the molecular classification. We investigated 156 patients with BrCa, stratified as luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) type, basal-like, and unclassified. MCs were identified with anti-MC tryptase antibody in a double immunohistochemical reaction combined with anti-cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34) antibody. Mast cell density (MCD) was calculated based on the hot-spot method, on three fields with maximum density of MCs in each case. The final result was the arithmetic media that was compared with the molecular profile and lymph node metastases. We found no significant correlation between MCD and the molecular profile of the primary tumor, but we noticed a strong correlation between intratumor MCD and lymph node metastases, regardless of the molecular type.

Ozone and microstructural morphological changes of tooth enamel.

The paper aims to study the impact of ozone (O3) treatment on the microstructural changes of the tooth enamel after the treatment at different time intervals. The ozonation was performed with gaseous O3 produced by HealOzone X4, the demineralization level was measured with the DiagnoDent Pen 2190 device, and the microstructure changes of enamel surface were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The results showed the exposure to O3 for 40-50 seconds enhanced enamel micro-hardness and ensures a rate of remineralization between 96.82-97.38%. In conclusion, in search of new minimally invasive solutions in the treatment of caries and to offer antimicrobial support of the oral cavity, the use of O3 as an alternative therapy to classical solutions may be a viable solution in dentistry.

Oral squamous cell carcinomas: a histopathological review of multiple cases from Western Romania.

Malignant tumors of the oral cavity have a growing incidence, most being squamous cell carcinomas, generally called oral cancers (OCs), clinically detected at various stages of natural evolution. The increased incidence in Romania in recent years and the lack of conclusive data have led to the development of this study. The main purpose of this study was to assess the molecular profile of tumors, the types of blood vessels associated with the tumor, and expression of tumor immunomarkers. Regarding morphological findings, focal epithelial hyperplasia, dysplastic lesions, typical mitoses, perineural invasion, parakeratosis and keratosis beads, intracytoplasmic keratinization were observed. Microvascular density was higher in the tumor area compared to the peritumoral area. Lymphovascular invasion was identified in 13% of cases, which also presented regional lymph node metastases. Podoplanin expression was identified in 79% of cases which were tested positive for the D2-40 immunomarker. All p53-positive cases co-expressed epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), half of the EGFR-positive cases co-expressed p53, and co-expression of CD117 and p63 was identified in 80% of EGFR-positive∕cytokeratin 5 (CK5)-positive cases being proposed the basal-like subtype of OCs, defined as EGFR-positive∕CK5-positive, CD117-positive and p63-positive. Results support the need for molecular classification of OCs based on of tumor immunomarker expression and gene analysis.

Expression and significance of Ki-67 in lung cancer.

Ki-67 parameter is a proliferation marker in malignant tumors. The increased proliferation activity and the decreased prognosis in lung cancer determined us to investigate different parameters connected to the tumor's aggression, such as cellularity, Ki-67 positivity rate, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). We evaluated the proliferative activity in 62 primary lung tumors by determining the cell's percentage of Ki-67 and immunoreactive PCNA (using MIB-1 and PCNA monoclonal antibodies), classifying Ki-67 and PCNA immunoreactivity into three score groups. The results obtained emphasized a linkage between Ki-67 score with the histological tumor subtype, tumor cellularity and degree of differentiation and with other proliferation immunohistochemistry (IHC) markers, such as p53 cellular tumor antigen. The tumor's cellularity, the Ki-67 positivity rate and PCNA, together with the clinical stage and the histological differentiation bring extra pieces of useful information in order to anticipate the evolution and the prognosis of lung cancer.

Expression of E-cadherin in lung carcinoma, other than those with small cells (NSCLC).

It was suggested that the decrease and/or loss of E-cadherin expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is responsible for the development of the malignant phenotype. Moreover, clinical studies showed that the reduced expression of E-cadherin is associated with tumoral differentiation, with the presence of lymph node metastasis and with unfavorable diagnosis of patients with NSCLC. In order to evaluate if E-cadherin expression is involved in the NSCLC pathogenesis and significantly associated with clinicopathological parameters, we investigated the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of E-cadherin in 47 lung carcinomas with tumoral resection pieces in the control peritumoral lung tissue, looking for possible correlations between the expression of this molecule and the clinicomorphological features and the evolutive prognosis of the patients. E-cadherin expression was preserved in 10 (21.28%) of the 47 NSCLCs immunostained with anti-E-cadherin antibody and reduced÷absent in 37 of the 47 (78.72%) NSCLCs studied. E-cadherin plays a major role in the intercellular adhesion. The reduced expression of E-cadherin indicates an unfavorable prognosis and can be a useful prognosis factor in NSCLC - for patients with reduced expression of the E-cadherin÷α-catenin complex, needing chemotherapy or radiotherapy.