Knowledge of Oral Cancer by a Brazilian Population.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the knowledge about oral cancer in a Brazilian population, including initial clinical signs, causal factors, and the health professional of first choice when suspected of the disease. A total of 2261 participants were interviewed in a cross-sectional study, to investigate associations between sociodemographic descriptive variables and knowledge of oral cancer, risk factors, disease precursor lesions, and health professional of choice for diagnosis. The variables were descriptively analyzed and possible associations investigated considering p values < 0.05. A total of 83.4% of participants reported knowing about oral cancer, and 59.5% reported knowing about potentially malignant lesions; both variables were associated (p < 0.0001). Tobacco was identified as the main risk factor (83.6%), followed by family history (66.2%), and poor oral hygiene (54.5%). Interviewees with higher education level had greater knowledge about cancer (p < 0.0001), and the dentist was the health professional of choice for 43.1% of those who knew about the disease (p = 0.007), with the generalist being the most sought specialist. The population evaluated had a low knowledge of oral cancer given the lack of specific clarifications on etiological factors and risk situations. Health education initiatives are necessary to increase population awareness of potentially malignant oral lesions and improve early diagnosis and recognition of the dentist as a qualified professional for diagnosis of the disease.

Correlation between salivary anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands of patients with chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the correlation between anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in saliva and detection of HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands of patients with chronic hepatitis C. METHODS: A total of 180 samples of saliva (131 non-stimulated and 49 stimulated) from 133 patients with chronic hepatitis C were tested by ELISA for presence of anti-HCV antibodies. Results were compared with the detection of HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands samples. Pearson's chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Anti-HCV antibodies could be detected in 47/180 (26.1%) saliva samples. In 11/47 (23.5%) of these, HCV RNA was also detected. From the 133/180 (73.9%) saliva samples with undetectable anti-HCV antibodies, 49/133 (36.8%) were positive for HCV RNA at least in one saliva sample. From the 64 patients from whom salivary gland samples were available, 17/64 (26.6%) had detectable anti-HCV antibodies in saliva, from which 2/17 (11.8%) also had HCV RNA in the salivary gland. From the 47/64 (73.4%) cases negative for anti-HCV antibodies in saliva, 10/47 (21.3%) were positive for HCV RNA in salivary gland. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our results suggest that there is no correlation between the presence of anti-HCV antibodies in saliva and the detection of HCV RNA in saliva and salivary glands in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Nevertheless, as there was a statistically significant difference between detection of anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA in stimulated saliva, our study points toward the need for new research on mechanisms of HCV shedding in saliva.

Detection of HCV RNA in saliva does not correlate with salivary flow or xerostomia in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in saliva and its possible association with xerostomia and hyposalivation in patients with chronic hepatitis C. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred and thirty-six patients with confirmed diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C were prospectively analyzed before HCV treatment. The prevalence of xerostomia and hyposalivation was clinically evaluated. HCV RNA was investigated in saliva samples by qualitative PCR test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to verify associations. RESULTS: Xerostomia was reported by 48 (35.3%) patients, whereas hyposalivation was observed in 26 (19.1%). HCV RNA was positive in the saliva of 53 (39.0%) patients. An association among HCV RNA-positive saliva with xerostomia or hyposalivation was not observed. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the detection of HCV in saliva does not correlate with salivary flow or xerostomia in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Oral lichen planus and chronic hepatitis C: a controversial association.

Our aim was to study the possible association between oral lichen planus and chronic hepatitis C in patients from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Two groups of patients were studied: group 1, 50 patients with oral lichen planus evaluated for the presence of chronic hepatitis C; and group 2, 215 patients with chronic hepatitis C examined for evidence of oral lichen planus. Diagnosis of oral lichen planus in both groups was based on clinical and histologic findings. One case of chronic hepatitis C was diagnosed in group 1 (2.0%), which was not considered statistically significant (P = .464). In group 2, the prevalence of oral lichen planus was 2.3% (5 cases), which showed statistical significance (P = .002). Although our results suggest oral lichen planus as an extrahepatic manifestation of chronic hepatitis C in the studied population, the association between these two entities should be further investigated.