NDB-UFES: An oral cancer and leukoplakia dataset composed of histopathological images and patient data.

The gold standard for the diagnosis of oral cancer is the microscopic analysis of specimens removed preferentially through incisional biopsies of oral mucosa with a clinically detected suspicious lesion. This dataset contains captured histopathological images of oral squamous cell carcinoma and leukoplakia. A total of 237 images were captured, 89 leukoplakia with dysplasia images, 57 leukoplakia without dysplasia images and 91 carcinoma images. The images were captured with an optical light microscope, using 10x and 40x objectives, attached to a microscope camera and visualized through a software. The images were saved in PNG format at 2048 × 1536 size pixels and they refer to hematoxylin-eosin stained histopathologic slides from biopsies performed between 2010 and 2021 in patients managed at the Oral Diagnosis project (NDB) of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES). Oral leukoplakias were represented by samples with and without epithelial dysplasia. Since the diagnosis considers socio-demographic data (gender, age and skin color) as well as clinical data (tobacco use, alcohol consumption, sun exposure, fundamental lesion, type of biopsy, lesion color, lesion surface and lesion diagnosis), this information was also collected. So, our aim by releasing this dataset NDB-UFES is to provide a new dataset to be used by researchers in Artificial Intelligence (machine and deep learning) to develop tools to assist clinicians and pathologists in the automated diagnosis of oral potentially malignant disorders and oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Heterogeneity and versatility of the extracellular matrix during the transition from pleomorphic adenoma to carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma: cumulative findings from basic research and new insights.

Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is the most common salivary gland tumor, accounting for 50%-60% of these neoplasms. If untreated, 6.2% of PA may undergo malignant transformation to carcinoma ex-pleomorphic adenoma (CXPA). CXPA is a rare and aggressive malignant tumor, whose prevalence represents approximately 3%-6% of all salivary gland tumors. Although the pathogenesis of the PA-CXPA transition remains unclear, CXPA development requires the participation of cellular components and the tumor microenvironment for its progression. The extracellular matrix (ECM) comprises a heterogeneous and versatile network of macromolecules synthesized and secreted by embryonic cells. In the PA-CXPA sequence, ECM is formed by a variety of components including collagen, elastin, fibronectin, laminins, glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, and other glycoproteins, mainly secreted by epithelial cells, myoepithelial cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cells, and endothelial cells. Like in other tumors including breast cancer, ECM changes play an important role in the PA-CXPA sequence. This review summarizes what is currently known about the role of ECM during CXPA development.