Alpha-Tocopherol Levels in Patients With Dentigerous Cysts: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Dentigerous cysts (DC) form due to fluid accumulation between the crown of the tooth and the reduced enamel epithelium. Due to the diverse clinical characteristics, such as ambiguity concerning their biological origins and the significance of timely diagnosis and detection of these lesions, researchers are presently motivated to undertake further investigations. The aim of the present study was to assess the amount of serum alpha-tocopherol in patients with DC and compare it with that of normal, healthy individuals. Methods A total sample size of n=34 was included in the current study. Group A, designated as the control group, comprised 17 randomly selected healthy subjects, while Group B, the DC diagnostic group, consisted of 17 patients. Blood samples were collected, and the concentration of vitamin E or alpha-tocopherol was evaluated and expressed in mg/mL. Results Compared to the mean vitamin E level in healthy controls (12.08 ± 1.92 mg/mL), patients with DC showed a statistically significant (p<0.0001) reduction in mean vitamin E levels (5.29 ± 1.01 mg/mL). Conclusion Patients with DC have lower levels of vitamin E than healthy individuals. The reduced concentration of vitamin E can have a role in the extension of cystic volume and thus have an impact on the aggressiveness of pathologic lesions. The therapeutic benefits of vitamin E supplementation in reducing the aggressiveness of DC should be evaluated in future research.

A Concordance Between Clinical and Pathological Tumor Staging of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Institutional Study.

BACKGROUND: Among oral diseases, oral cancer is the primary cause of death and poses a serious health risk. Primary tumor (T) - regional lymph node (N) - distant metastasis (M) comprising (TNM) staging is crucial for planning treatment strategies for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). AIM: This study evaluated the predictive accuracy of clinical TNM staging of OSCC to histopathological staging (pTNM) in an institutional setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive histologically confirmed, surgically treated OSCC cases were evaluated for TNM staging. The study compared the clinical staging at the time of surgery with the pathological staging obtained from excisional biopsy reports. Microsoft Excel (Microsoft® Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) was used for the data compilation and descriptive analysis. The chi-square test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey's Honest Significant Difference (HSD) posthoc test were used to compare the data for statistical significance with p value <0.05 using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Version 23.0, Armonk, NY). RESULTS: The alveolar mucosa (n=22, 40.74%) was the most frequently occurring site, followed by the tongue (n=17, 31.48%). Out of the 54 included cases, based on clinical tumor size, there were T1 (n=6), T2 (n=13), T3 (n=13), T4a (n=16) and T4b (n=6). T2 tumors were usually upstaged (n=7) while T4a (n=8) tumors were most often downstaged. T4a (n=8) had the best concordance between clinical and histopathological staging, followed by T2, T3, and T1. In nodal status, N1 showed the most variation. The chi-squared test showed statistical significance for tumor size comparison (p <0.001) and nodal status comparison (p=0.002). ANOVA test did not show any statistical significance. Tukey's HSD posthoc test showed statistical significance (p=0.034) for N0 and N1 status. The highest concordance was shown by N0 and N1 followed by N2b. CONCLUSION: Preoperative radiological and clinical assessments are essential for deciding on a patient's course of treatment. However, not all patients may require radiographs to determine tumor size or nodal status assessment. Accurate diagnosis is vital for the treatment planning of OSCC.

Cholesterol Granuloma From a Developmental Odontogenic Cyst: A Report of a Rare Case and a Literature Review.

Dentigerous cysts are the second most common developmental odontogenic cysts that develop around the crown of unerrupted teeth with the maxillary canine region being one of the common sites of occurrence. The cystic lining of this lesion has been shown to develop into ameloblastoma, Muco epidermoid carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinomas. However, the development of cholesterol granuloma (CG) in the cystic lining of a dentigerous cyst is extremely rare. CG is a histological observation distinguished by the presence of a conglomeration of connective tissue and granulation tissue. The condition is predominantly seen in the field of otolaryngology, with very few cases reported in the maxillofacial region, most of which are associated with the maxillary sinus. This article presents the findings of a CG in a 39-year-old male patient that developed within the dentigerous cyst and discusses the possible etiopathogenesis, surgical management, and histological presentation.

Ferroptosis Mediated Novel Drug Design Approach in the Treatment of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Globally, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is the highest prevalent type of oral cancer. Implementing a successful treatment plan for the aforementioned tumor has always been a primary concern. There are numerous targeted therapies of which Ferroptosis has been receiving increasing attention in the recent decade. A novel form of controlled cell death "Ferroptosis' is caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. A well-known mechanism for controlling ferroptosis is the Cysteine/GSH/GPX4 axis, in which System X͞c is crucial. System X͞c inhibitors have been proven earlier to improve chemotherapy sensitivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five System X͞c inhibitors were selected from the literature. The structure of these molecules from Zinc15 and the protein sequence of the target from Protein Data Bank were obtained. Twenty new molecules were identified following pharmacophore modeling and were docked with the target protein using SwissDock. The binding energies of the new molecules with the target were compared with that of the reported molecules. RESULT: The molecular docking study showed that two new molecules (ZINC89362298 and ZINC1730544) resulted in the highest binding pattern (-8.64) than that of the reported molecules (-7.75). CONCLUSION: The present study concluded that ZINC89362298 and ZINC1730544 had better binding efficiencies than that of the reported System xc- inhibitors. Hence these two molecules could be used in targeted drug therapy and could be a promising lead in the management of oral cancer in the future.

Cytomorphometric Analysis of Buccal Exfoliated Cells in Geriatric and Pediatric Age Groups - A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background We have to establish variations in cellular dimensions in buccal smears with respect to age. It can be used as a reference standard while dealing with age-related pathological abnormalities. Aim The study aims to compare the nuclear area (NA), cellular area (CA), and nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio (N:C) of pediatric and geriatric age groups in smears obtained from clinically normal buccal mucosa. Materials and methods Buccal smears were collected from 60 subjects with age groups of <10 and >60 years. Cytological smears were prepared and fixed using alcohol. H&E and Papanicolaou's staining was performed as per manufacturer instructions. Cytomorphometric analysis was carried out using Image J software v.1.52 for CA, NA, and N:C. Statistical analysis using Student's t-test was performed using SPSS version 23.0 (IBM Inc, Armonk, New York).  Results A significant difference (p<0.001) in NA and CA between the pediatric and geriatric age groups was noted. There was no significant difference in N:C among the study groups. Conclusion The present study provides baseline data of two different age groups that can be used for comparison of abnormal cells in suspicious clinical lesions.