Atypical cellular neurothekeoma of the oral mucosa: A rare case report and literature review.

Cellular neurothekeoma (CN) is a benign dermal neoplasm that most often affects the head and neck region and rarely occurs in the oral mucosa. We report a rare case of CN with atypical features on the floor of the mouth and summarize the reported cases of oral CN in English-language literature. A 62-year-old woman presented with a 6-month history of a painless mass on the floor of the mouth. Histopathological analysis of the excised specimen revealed a proliferation of neoplastic cells with oval to spindle morphology arranged in a vaguely nested and multinodular architecture separated by scarce hyaline collagen within a predominantly myxoid-rich stroma. The tumor cells were positive for NSE, and CD63 (NKI/C3), and negative for S100 protein, CD34, and SMA. Thus, the final diagnosis was CN. In addition, we summarized all clinicopathological data on oral CNs reported in the English-language literature. Nineteen cases were reviewed. Among them, only one case affected the floor of the mouth of a young girl, in contrast to the present case that occurred in an elderly woman. CN is particularly rare in this location and may be a diagnostic challenge for oral pathologists due to its rarity and morphological similarity with other lesions.

Clinicopathological Features of 26 Intraoral Polymorphous Adenocarcinomas from a Single Brazilian Institution.

PURPOSE: This study describes a large, well-documented case series of salivary gland polymorphous adenocarcinomas (PAC) from a single Brazilian center. METHODS: Demographic data, clinical presentation, histopathological and immunohistochemical features from 26 cases of PAC were analyzed and discussed in detail. RESULTS: Most patients were females (n = 21), with a ratio of 1:4.2 (male: female) with a mean age of 58.8 years (ranging from 36 to 84 years). The most common clinical presentation was a fibrocollagenous, firm nodular lesion, with a mean size of 2.46 cm (ranging from 0.5 to 3 cm). Most lesions occurred on the palate (n = 16), followed by buccal mucosa (n = 3), upper lip (n = 3), buccal vestibule (n = 2) and alveolar ridge (n = 1). Histologically, various growth patterns were observed, including tubular, solid, cribriform, papillary, and cystic. Additionally, glomeruloid slit-like structures, mucous, and clear cells were noted. Surface papillary epithelial hyperplasia was observed in a few cases. Nine cases exhibited myxoid and collagenous areas, while two cases showed fusiform areas and another case demonstrated squamous differentiation. Clear cell predominance was noted in two cases, and peri- and intraneural invasion was seen in eight cases. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed positivity for S-100, p63 and CK7, and negativity for p40 in all cases. The Ki-67 proliferation index was markedly low in most cases, with a mean of 2.5%. CONCLUSION: We have provided a broad, detailed description of the clinical and microscopic features of PAC in a large, Brazilian cohort. These findings, in a resource-limited area, may be quite useful for establishing a proper diagnosis.

Histopathological risk assessment in multisite epithelial dysplasia: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Histopathological grading of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) is the current standard for stratifying cancer progression risk but is associated with subjectivity and variability. This problem is not commonly seen regarding the grading of epithelial dysplasia in other sites. This systematic review aims to compare grading systems for oral, anal, penile, and cervical epithelial dysplasia to determine their predictive accuracy for recurrence and malignant transformation (MT) outcomes. METHODS: The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023403035) and was reported according to the PRISMA checklist. A comprehensive search was performed in the main databases and gray literature. The risk of bias in individual studies was analyzed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for each study design. RESULTS: Forty-six studies were deemed eligible and included in this systematic review, of which 45 were included in the quantitative analysis. Meta-analysis revealed that the binary system demonstrated a higher predictive ability for MT/recurrence of OED compared to multilevel systems. Higher predictive accuracy of MT was also observed for binary grading systems in anal intraepithelial neoplasia. CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference was found between the current grading systems of epithelial dysplasia in different body parts. However, binary grading systems have shown better clinical outcomes.

Histiocytic sarcoma affecting the oral cavity: a clinical, pathologic and molecular study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinicopathological, immunohistochemical and molecular features of histiocytic sarcomas affecting the oral cavity. METHODS: Pathology files of two institutions were searched for cases of histiocytic sarcoma, and new H&E-stained slides and immunohistochemistry reactions evaluated for diagnosis confirmation. Molecular screening for KRAS and PIK3CA mutations was performed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Sanger sequencing. BRAFp.V600E mutation was assessed by pyrosequencing. Clinical data regarding sex, age, tumor location, systemic manifestations, clinical presentation, follow-up time, treatment applied and status at last follow-up were collected from patients' pathology and medical files. RESULTS: Three cases were retrieved during the period investigated (2000-2023). Two females and one male were affected, with a wide age range, involving the tongue, palate and gingiva. Histopathologically, the neoplasms presented as highly pleomorphic atypical cells distributed diffusely with infiltration of normal structures. All cases demonstrated histiocytic differentiation expressing CD68 and CD163, and a high Ki67 expression. Genetic mutations were evaluated in two cases. One case harboured BRAF-V600E mutation, but not in KRAS and PIK3CA, while the second case did not show mutation in BRAF-V600E, KRAS and PI3KCA. One patient was lost, and two patients died after eight and four months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Histiocytic sarcomas involving the oral cavity are extremely rare, and may represent dissemination of a systemic condition. It has an aggressive biological behaviour with a poor overall prognosis.

Feasibility study of ResNet-50 in the distinction of intraoral neural tumors using histopathological images.

BACKGROUND: Neural tumors are difficult to distinguish based solely on cellularity and often require immunohistochemical staining to aid in identifying the cell lineage. This article investigates the potential of a Convolutional Neural Network for the histopathological classification of the three most prevalent benign neural tumor types: neurofibroma, perineurioma, and schwannoma. METHODS: A model was developed, trained, and evaluated for classification using the ResNet-50 architecture, with a database of 30 whole-slide images stained in hematoxylin and eosin (106, 782 patches were generated from and divided among the training, validation, and testing subsets, with strategies to avoid data leakage). RESULTS: The model achieved an accuracy of 70% (64% normalized), and showed satisfactory results for differentiating two of the three classes, reaching approximately 97% and 77% as true positives for neurofibroma and schwannoma classes, respectively, and only 7% for perineurioma class. The AUROC curves for neurofibroma and schwannoma classes was 0.83%, and 0.74% for perineurioma. However, the specificity rate for the perineurioma class was greater (83%) than in the other two classes (neurofibroma with 61%, and schwannoma with 60%). CONCLUSION: This investigation demonstrated significant potential for proficient performance with a limitation regarding the perineurioma class (the limited feature variability observed contributed to a lower performance).

ChatGPT and dentistry: a step toward the future.

This article aims to explore the integration of ChatGPT, an advanced conversational artificial intelligence model, in the field of dentistry. The review primarily consists of information related to the capabilities and functionalities of ChatGPT and how these abilities can aid dental professionals. This study includes data from research papers, case studies, and relevant literature on language models, as well as papers on dentistry, patient communication, dental education, and clinical decision-making. A systematic approach was used to select relevant studies and literature. The selection criteria focused on papers that specifically discussed the integration of language models, ChatGPT in particular, in dentistry and their applications. The study findings revealed that ChatGPT has significant potential to revolutionize dentistry by offering various applications and benefits. It can enhance patient engagement and understanding through personalized oral health information and guidance. In dental education, ChatGPT can provide interactive learning, case studies, and virtual patient simulations. ChatGPT can also assist researchers in analyzing dental literature, identifying patterns, and generating insights. Moreover, it supports dentists with evidence-based recommendations, treatment options, and diagnostic support. Integrating ChatGPT in dentistry can be highly beneficial, but it is crucial to address ethical considerations, accuracy, and privacy concerns. Responsible implementation and continuous improvement of its functionalities are necessary to ensure that patient care and outcomes are improved.

Intraoral Salivary Gland Cystadenomas: A Case Series Study and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Salivary gland cystadenoma (SGCA) is a rare benign tumor that predominantly occurs in the parotid gland. SGCAs affecting the minor salivary glands are uncommon and often resemble, clinically and histopathologically, other salivary gland lesions. METHODS: This study aimed to describe a series of four cases of SGCA affecting intraoral sites and performed a literature review of well-reported SGCA published in the English-language literature. RESULTS: SGCA cases included in this series were diagnosed in the buccal mucosa, lip, and hard palate of female patients aged between 19 and 78 years. All cases underwent excisional biopsy and were histologically characterized by a multicystic growth with variable degrees of capsule formation and were lined by several types of epithelium, including some cell types that are infrequently reported in SGCA. In some cases, a small collection of lymphocytes was observed adjacent to cystic formations. All SGCA were positive for periodic acid-Schiff, and immunohistochemical reactions were positive for CK7 and p63. The follow-up time ranged widely from 3 to 53 months, and to date, no recurrence has been observed. CONCLUSION: The literature review revealed a total of 33 published studies accounting for 55 SGCA cases.

Artificial intelligence and radiomics in the diagnosis of intraosseous lesions of the gnathic bones: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this systematic review (SR) is to gather evidence on the use of machine learning (ML) models in the diagnosis of intraosseous lesions in gnathic bones and to analyze the reliability, impact, and usefulness of such models. This SR was performed in accordance with the PRISMA 2022 guidelines and was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42022379298). METHODS: The acronym PICOS was used to structure the inquiry-focused review question "Is Artificial Intelligence reliable for the diagnosis of intraosseous lesions in gnathic bones?" The literature search was conducted in various electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Lilacs, IEEE Xplore, and Gray Literature (Google Scholar and ProQuest). Risk of bias assessment was performed using PROBAST, and the results were synthesized by considering the task and sampling strategy of the dataset. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies were included (21 146 radiographic images). Ameloblastomas, odontogenic keratocysts, dentigerous cysts, and periapical cysts were the most frequently investigated lesions. According to TRIPOD, most studies were classified as type 2 (randomly divided). The F1 score was presented in only 13 studies, which provided the metrics for 20 trials, with a mean of 0.71 (±0.25). CONCLUSION: There is no conclusive evidence to support the usefulness of ML-based models in the detection, segmentation, and classification of intraosseous lesions in gnathic bones for routine clinical application. The lack of detail about data sampling, the lack of a comprehensive set of metrics for training and validation, and the absence of external testing limit experiments and hinder proper evaluation of model performance.

Prospective Cohort Study Identifies Medical Predictors of Treatment-Related Oral Toxicities in Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients.

The dental treatment of patients with oral cavity and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OOPSCC) may be challenging for dentists. This study aimed to characterize systemic changes in patients with OOPSCC undergoing dental treatment prior to cancer therapy, with a specific focus on laboratory assessments. The primary objectives included identifying potential adverse events, such as infections or bleeding, resulting from dental procedures. Additionally, the study aimed to correlate baseline patient characteristics with treatment-related toxicities. This was a prospective cohort study that included 110 OOPSCC patients referred to the Dental Oncology Service at São Paulo State Cancer Institute, Brazil, between November/2019 and December/2020. Comorbidities, sociodemographic data, medication in use, cancer treatment-related toxicities, and altered laboratory tests results were correlated. The most common comorbidities and altered laboratory results were hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, as well as elevated levels of C-reactive protein, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. Toxicities exhibited a progressive pattern over time, encompassing oral mucositis (OM), xerostomia, dysphagia, dysgeusia, trismus, and radiodermatitis. No correlation between comorbidities and cancer treatment-related toxicities, a positive correlation between medications in use and OM, and a negative correlation between medications and dysgeusia were found. OM was associated with altered thyroxine (T4) and free thyroxine (FT4), calcium, urea, creatinine, alkaline phosphatase, and syphilis. Family income and housing were OM predictors. Altered T4/FT4/urea/calcium/alkaline phosphatase/creatinine/syphilis may be useful clinical predictors of OM. Despite the elevated prevalence of comorbidities and abnormal laboratory findings, dental treatment prior to cancer treatment yielded no adverse events.

DNA content and clinicopathological features aid in distinguishing ameloblastic carcinoma from ameloblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Ameloblastoma and ameloblastic carcinoma are epithelial odontogenic tumors that can be morphologically similar. In the present study, we evaluated the DNA content and Ki-67 index in the two tumors. METHODS: The paraffin blocks of the tumors were selected to obtain sections for the immunohistochemical reactions and preparation of the cell suspension for acquisition in a flow cytometer. The Random Forest package of the R software was used to verify the contribution of each variable to classify lesions into ameloblastoma or ameloblastic carcinoma. RESULTS: Thirty-two ameloblastoma and five ameloblastic carcinoma were included in the study. In our sample, we did not find statistically significant differences in Ki-67 labeling rates. A higher fraction of cells in 2c (G1) was correlated with the diagnosis of ameloblastoma, whereas higher rates of 5c-exceeding rate (5cER) were correlated with ameloblastic carcinoma. The Random Forest model highlighted histopathological findings and parameters of DNA ploidy study as important features for distinguishing ameloblastoma from ameloblastic carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the parameters of the DNA ploidy study can be ancillary tools in the classification of ameloblastoma and ameloblastic carcinoma.

Malignant tumors affecting the head and neck region in ancient times: Comprehensive study of the CRAB Database.

In the modern world, cancer is a growing cause of mortality, but archeological studies have shown that it is not exclusive to modern populations. The aim of this study is to examine the epidemiologic, social, and clinicopathologic features of head and neck cancers in ancient populations. To do this, we extracted all records that described malignant lesions in the head and neck region available in the Cancer Research in Ancient Bodies Database (CRAB). The estimated age, sex, physical condition of the remains (skeletonized, mummified), anatomic location of tumors, geographic location, chronology, tumor type, and methods of tumor diagnosis were collected. One hundred and sixty-seven cases were found, mostly originating from Europe (51.5%). Most records were of adults between 35 and 49 years of age (37.7%). The most involved site was the skullcap (60.4%), and the most common malignancies were metastases to the bone (65.3%) and multiple myeloma (17.4%). No primary soft tissue malignancies were registered. The results of our study indicate that head and neck cancers were present in ancient civilizations, at least since 500,000 BCE. The available data can help to improve the current understanding of the global distribution of head and neck cancer and its multidimensional impacts on populations in the contemporary world.

The use of E-cigarettes as a risk factor for oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer: a rapid review of clinical evidence / El uso de cigarrillos electrónicos como factor de riesgo de trastornos orales potencialmente malignos y cáncer oral: una revisión rápida de la evidencia clínica

Background: The popularity of e-cigarettes has increased rapidly in the last decade, particularly among teens andyoung adults, being advertised as a less harmful alternative to conventional tobacco products. However, in vitroand in vivo studies have evidenced a variable quantity of potentially harmful components and some recognizedcarcinogens which may cause DNA damage in oral cells. Additionally, evidence suggests that e-cigarettes mayplay active roles in the pathogenesis of other malignancies, such as lung and bladder cancers. Therefore, this rapidreview aimed to assess the available clinical evidence about using e-cigarettes as a risk factor for oral potentiallymalignant disorders (OPMD) and oral cancer.Material and Methods: A systematic search for English language articles published was performed in PubMed(MEDLINE), Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. After the study selection process, the authors included twelveclinical studies about OPMD and oral cancer risk in e-cigarette users.Results: The main findings showed the presence of carcinogenic compounds in saliva and morphologic changes,DNA damage, and molecular pathways related to carcinogenesis in the oral cells of e-cigarette users. However,results were inconsistent compared to tobacco smokers and control groups.Conclusions: the current clinical evidence on this topic is limited and insufficient to support using e-cigarettes asa risk factor for OPMD and oral cancer. Nevertheless, dental care professionals should advise patients responsiblyabout the potentially harmful effects of e-cigarettes on the oral mucosa cells. Future long-term and well-designedclinical studies are needed.(AU)

Lymphomas affecting the submandibular glands / Linfomas que afectan las glándulas submandibulares

Background: Lymphomas affecting the submandibular glands are very uncommon and few reports are currentlyavailable in the literature. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to describe the clinical and microscopic fea-tures of an original series of lymphomas affecting the submandibular glands.Material and Methods: The pathology files of two institutions were searched for lymphoma cases affecting thesubmandibular glands. The original hematoxylin and eosin, and immunohistochemical slides were revised by apathologist for diagnosis confirmation following the revised 4th edition of the World Health Organization classification of tumours of haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues. Clinical data regarding age, sex, clinical manifestation,treatment, follow-up and status at last appointment were retrieved from the patients’ medical charts.Results: During the period investigated, 16 cases were included in the study. Females predominated (10:6) with amean age of 57.8 years-old. Tumors usually presented as asymptomatic swellings. MALT lymphoma representedthe most common subtype, followed by diffuse large B cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. Three patientsdied, one of them affected by plasmablastic lymphoma, one by DLBCL and one by MALT lymphoma.Conclusions: Low-grade B cell lymphomas predominate in the submandibular glands, but DLBCL and other sub-types may also be rarely diagnosed in this salivary gland.(AU)

Medication-related osteonecrosis in torus palatinus: Report of a case and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw bones have been frequently reported. However, its occurrence in torus palatinus is very rare with only 10 cases published in the English-language literature. CASE REPORT: We describe an additional case in a 79-year-old woman, who was referred for evaluation of a painful swelling with areas of suppuration on the hard palate. CONCLUSION: Conservative treatment was performed and after spontaneous sequestrectomy, total healing was achieved.

Reported physical examination methods for screening of oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to describe the method followed during physical examination and the anatomical structures of the head and neck assessed in screening for oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). STUDY DESIGN: An extensive literature search was carried out using MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, LILACS, Web of Science, Cochrane databases, and gray literature. The risk of bias was available in all papers included. RESULTS: Of 9,688 records identified, 27 were included in this review, reporting data from 356,250 individuals screened and distributed across 11 countries. Most of these (n = 19) were based on 1 round of screening conducted by a dental professional or other health care workers. Most screening programs included visual inspection and palpation of the lips, oral cavity, and the most visible oropharyngeal sites, but the descriptions reported were imprecise. Additional inspection and palpation of the neck (submental, submandibular, cervical, and supraclavicular regions) to assess for the presence of swellings and any palpable neck nodes were also performed in 15 programs. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, there was considerable heterogeneity in the method of physical examination in screening programs for oral cancer and OPMDs among the included studies.