SPINK7 expression changes accompanied by HER2, P53 and RB1 can be relevant in predicting oral squamous cell carcinoma at a molecular level.

The oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which has a high morbidity rate, affects patients worldwide. Changes in SPINK7 in precancerous lesions could promote oncogenesis. Our aim was to evaluate SPINK7 as a potential molecular biomarker which predicts OSCC stages, compared to: HER2, TP53, RB1, NFKB and CYP4B1. This study used oral biopsies from three patient groups: dysplasia (n = 33), less invasive (n = 28) and highly invasive OSCC (n = 18). The control group consisted of clinically suspicious cases later to be confirmed as normal mucosa (n = 20). Gene levels of SPINK7, P53, RB, NFKB and CYP4B1 were quantified by qPCR. SPINK7 levels were correlated with a cohort of 330 patients from the TCGA. Also, SPINK7, HER2, TP53, and RB1, were evaluated by immunohistofluorescence. One-way Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's post-hoc with a p < 0.05 significance was used to analyze data. In OSCC, the SPINK7 expression had down regulated while P53, RB, NFKB and CYP4B1 had up regulated (p < 0.001). SPINK7 had also diminished in TCGA patients (p = 2.10e-6). In less invasive OSCC, SPINK7 and HER2 proteins had decreased while TP53 and RB1 had increased with respect to the other groups (p < 0.05). The changes of SPINK7 accompanied by HER2, P53 and RB1 can be used to classify the molecular stage of OSCC lesions allowing a diagnosis at molecular and histopathological levels.

Solitary pigmented lesions in oral mucosa in Latin American children: A case series.

BACKGROUND: A variety of local and systemic processes caused exogenous and endogenous pigmentation of the oral mucosa. Solitary melanotic pigmentation is rare, hence the scarce number of studies in children and adolescents. METHODS: Clinical and histopathologic features of 10 Latin American children with solitary pigmented lesions of the oral mucosa were reviewed. RESULTS: The area most affected was the gingiva, followed by the palate. All lesions were flat and <1 cm in diameter. A brown color was observed in oral melanocytic macules and nevi. The exogenously pigmented lesion was bluish gray. Histopathology showed that the biopsied lesions corresponded to melanotic macules, junctional nevus, blue nevus, and exogenous pigmentation. CONCLUSION: Solitary pigmented lesions on the oral mucosa of children, from melanin pigment or exogenous pigment, may have a similar clinical presentation, but melanotic lesions such as oral melanotic macules and nevi can be differentiated from one another only with histopathologic examination.

Prevalencia del virus papiloma humano en pacientes con diagnóstico de carcinoma escamoso de la cavidad oral / Human papilloma virus prevalence in patients diagnosed with squamous carcinoma oral cavity

Aim: To establish the prevalence of HPV in patients with diagnose of Oral Squamous cell carcinoma, treated in the Instituto nacional del Cáncer in fresh tumoral samples. methods: Cross-sectional study. The inclusion criteria were patients over 18 years, histological diagnosis of Oral Squamous cell carcinoma, that haven’t received any previous cancer treatment, in normal physical and mental conditions. All patients signed an informed consent. Samples consisting of fresh biopsies of lesions with clinical and pathological diagnosis were made. The samples were processed in the Programme of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, through PCR and genotyped by Linear Array® (ROCHE). Results: The prevalence of VPH obtained in this patients was of 9.09% (2/22), corresponding 1 to VPH 56. The positive patients for VPH resulted to be a man of 35 years and a woman of 73 years (9%). Conclusion: The prevalence of HPV in this type of patients was 9.09%, similar than the international publications.

Objetivos: Determinar la prevalencia del virus papiloma humano (VPH) en pacientes con diagnóstico de carcinoma escamoso de la cavidad oral (COCE), atendidos en el Instituto nacional del Cáncer (INCANCER). material y método: Estudio de corte transversal. Criterios de inclusión: pacientes mayores de 18 años, con diagnóstico histológico de COCE, que no hubiesen recibido ningún tratamiento oncológico previo, en condiciones físicas y mentales normales. Todos los pacientes firmaron el consentimiento informado. Se les realizó una entrevista y se tomaron muestras que consistieron en biopsias frescas de lesiones con diagnóstico clínico y anatomopatológico de COCE. Las muestras se procesaron en el Programa de Virología de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Chile, a través de PCR y se genotipificaron mediante Linear Array® (ROCHE). Resultados: La prevalencia de VPH obtenida en estos pacientes fue de un 9,09% (2/22), correspondiendo 1 a VPH 56. Los pacientes positivos para VPH resultaron ser un hombre de 35 años y una mujer de 73 años (9%). Conclusión: La prevalencia del VPH en este tipo de pacientes fue de 9,09%, similar a las publicaciones internacionales.

Human papillomavirus infection in oral squamous cell carcinomas from Chilean patients.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causal agent of cervical, anogenital and a subset of oropharyngeal carcinomas. In addition, the role of HPV in oral carcinogenesis has been suggested, although the findings are inconclusive. In this study, using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genotyping by specific PCR and DNA sequencing, we analyzed the HPV presence in 80 oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) from Chilean subjects. In addition, we determined the expression of p16, p53, pRb and Ki-67 using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The CDKN2A (p16) promoter methylation was evaluated using methylation-specific PCR (MSP). HPV sequences were found in 9/80 (11%) OSCCs. Non-statistically significant association with p53, pRb, Ki-67 and p16 levels were found (p=0.77; 0.29; 0.83; 0.21, respectively). HPV-16 and 18 were the most prevalent HPV genotypes in 8/9 (89%) OSCCs. In addition, CDKN2A (p16) was methylated in 39% of OSCCs. No association with HPV presence (p=0.917) was found. These results suggest that HPV positive OSCCs are entities that do not resemble the molecular alterations of HPV-associated tumors in a Chilean population. More studies are warranted to determine the role of HPV in OSCCs.

Sarcomatoid (spindle cell) carcinoma of tongue: a report of two cases.

Sarcomatoid Carcinoma (SC) is an unusual and aggressive variant of squamous cell carcinoma, which frequently recurs and metastasizes; for this reason, the right diagnosis is very important. It is considered to be a biphasic tumor made up of cells from squamous and spindle cells carcinoma with a sarcomatous aspect, but of epithelial origin. The diagnosis often represents a clinical-pathological challenge where the study with immunohistochemical technique (IHC) is key to the histopathological diagnosis. The reported cases related to oral mucosa are limited. In this work we present two SC cases where the use of IHC allowed us to achieve a conclusive diagnosis.