UBE2C promotes the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a complex pathological process and many cellular and molecular events may occur. The ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 (UBE2C) was found to play an oncogenic role in several human cancers. However, its functional role in HNSCC tumorigenesis remains unknown. In this study, UBE2C gene expression in HNSCC was first evaluated using the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The connection between UBE2C gene expression and patients' survival rates of HNSCC and other human cancers was also investigated. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was used to identify differentially expressed proteins, including UBE2C, between UMSCC1 oral cancer cells and normal human oral keratinocytes (NHOKs). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to verify the differential expression of UBE2C protein between HNSCC and adjacent control tissues. Cell cycle analysis, MTT, colony formation, Transwell migration, and Matrigel invasion assays were used to study the effect of UBE2C downregulation on the malignant phenotypes of HNSCC cells. The bioinformatic analysis of the proteins interacting with UBE2C in HNSCC cells was also performed. Based on the data obtained from the cancer databases and our in vitro studies, we found that UBE2C was overexpressed in HNSCC and patients with high UBE2C expression suffered a remarkably worse overall survival rate than those with low UBE2C expression, and a similar observation was found in a number of other human cancers. UBE2C was also found to be overexpressed in HNSCC cells versus normal human oral keratinocytes and inhibition of UBE2C expression significantly suppressed the malignant phenotypes of HNSCC cells in vitro. The bioinformatic analysis indicated that UBE2C may be involved in head and neck tumorigenesis through the mediation of important pathways such as ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, proteasome, and cell cycle. In conclusion, our results suggest that UBE2C is consistently upregulated in many human solid tumors. It promotes HNSCC progression and may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker in HNSCC. Future studies are warranted to unveil the underlying molecular pathways of UBE2C in HNSCC.

Current Trends in the Incidence and Presentation of Oropharyngeal Cancer.

The prevalence and behavior of oropharyngeal cancers have dramatically changed over the past 30 years. It is now clear that human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a major role in the incidence of head and neck cancers in the general population and among patients with HIV infection. This article reviews the current knowledge about oropharyngeal cancers for their epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical behavior, treatment and prevention. This review further examines the subset of oropharyngeal cancers among the HIV-seropositive patients.

The clinical effectiveness of reflectance optical spectroscopy for the in vivo diagnosis of oral lesions.

Optical spectroscopy devices are being developed and tested for the screening and diagnosis of oral precancer and cancer lesions. This study reports a device that uses white light for detection of suspicious lesions and green-amber light at 545 nm that detect tissue vascularity on patients with several suspicious oral lesions. The clinical grading of vascularity was compared to the histological grading of the biopsied lesions using specific biomarkers. Such a device, in the hands of dentists and other health professionals, could greatly increase the number of oral cancerous lesions detected in early phase. The purpose of this study is to correlate the clinical grading of tissue vascularity in several oral suspicious lesions using the Identafi(®) system with the histological grading of the biopsied lesions using specific vascular markers. Twenty-one patients with various oral lesions were enrolled in the study. The lesions were visualized using Identafi(®) device with white light illumination, followed by visualization of tissue autofluorescence and tissue reflectance. Tissue biopsied was obtained from the all lesions and both histopathological and immunohistochemical studies using a vascular endothelial biomarker (CD34) were performed on these tissue samples. The clinical vascular grading using the green-amber light at 545 nm and the expression pattern and intensity of staining for CD34 in the different biopsies varied depending on lesions, grading ranged from 1 to 3. The increase in vascularity was observed in abnormal tissues when compared to normal mucosa, but this increase was not limited to carcinoma only as hyperkeratosis and other oral diseases, such as lichen planus, also showed increase in vascularity. Optical spectroscopy is a promising technology for the detection of oral mucosal abnormalities; however, further investigations with a larger population group is required to evaluate the usefulness of these devices in differentiating benign lesions from potentially malignant lesions.

Thirty years of the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic and beyond.

After more than 30 years of battling a global epidemic, the prospect of eliminating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the most challenging infectious disease of the modern era is within our reach. Major scientific discoveries about the virus responsible for this immunodeficiency disease state, including its pathogenesis, transmission patterns and clinical course, have led to the development of potent antiretroviral drugs that offer great hopes in HIV treatment and prevention. Although these agents and many others still in development and testing are capable of effectively suppressing viral replication and survival, the medical management of HIV infection at the individual and the population levels remains challenging. Timely initiation of antiretroviral drugs, adherence to the appropriate therapeutic regimens, effective use of these agents in the pre and post-exposure prophylaxis contexts, treatment of comorbid conditions and addressing social and psychological factors involved in the care of individuals continue to be important considerations.

Aphthous ulcers.

Aphthous ulcers are one of the most common oral diseases worldwide. Their clinical presentation is characterized by multiple, recurrent, small, round, or ovoid ulcers with circumscribed margins and erythematous haloes present in different sizes. Oral lesions similar to aphthous ulcers may be present in several systemic diseases. This article will summarize the differential diagnosis of aphthous ulceration, with emphasis on a practical guide for the management of recurrent aphthous ulceration, including topical and systemic therapy.

Health care-associated transmission of hepatitis B & C viruses in dental care (dentistry).

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection rates are declining, but infection with this virus or hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a risk for dental health care personnel (DHCP). This article describes the epidemiology of HBV and HCV and their particular risks to DHCP. Hepatitis B vaccination is discussed, as is postexposure management recommendations for both HBV and HCV.

Oral health and HIV infection: a chronic disease model.

HIV disease is now considered a chronic illness requiring continued management and monitoring. However, for those with poor access to anti-retroviral medications, the disease continues to be associated with higher morbidity and mortality. With the expansion of the HIV pandemic into vulnerable subpopulations, HIV care requires coordinated and integrated care for a complex mix of psychosocial and clinical services that must include oral health care.

Cellular immunology in HIV-1 positive African American women using alcohol and cocaine.

Co-use of illicit drugs, in particular cocaine and alcohol, is common among HIV-1(+) men and women of different ethnic groups. We compared cohorts of alcohol and cocaine co-users HIV-1(+) African American women and in cohorts of drug-free, or methamphetamine users HIV-1(+) men. We monitored clinical cellular immune parameters at repeated regular intervals. We found that significant inverse correlations between (CD8+)CD38+ cells and subpopulations of CD4+ cells distinguished by the expression of CD45RA in HIV-1(+) alcohol and cocaine co- users but not in drug-free HIV-1(+) patients. Following stratification for CD4+ cell number, we found the (CD4+)CD45RA+ subpopulation to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the drug user compared to drug-free HIV-1(+). Drug abuse may alter the change from the (CD4+)CD45RA+ to the (CD4+)CD45RA- phenotype selectively, which recovers in HIV-1+ methamphetamine abusers during treatment from baseline to 4-weeks, as manifested by improved IL-2 production in vitro. of TH1 and TH2 cytokines during progression to AIDS.

Oral health findings for HIV-infected adult medical patients from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study.

BACKGROUND: The HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS) was conducted by a consortium of private and government institutions centered at the RAND Corp. to provide national estimates of adult medical patients who are HIV-positive. This article presents descriptive oral health findings from that study. METHODS: The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) conducted four interviews of a nationally representative sample of adults with HIV who made a medical visit for regular care in early 1996. This article uses data from the second interview conducted between December 1996 and July 1997. The authors constructed analytical weights for each respondent so the 2,466 interviewees represented a population of 219,700. RESULTS: Most adult medical patients with HIV rated their oral health as at least "good," but 12 percent (representing a population of 25,300) rated it as "poor." Xerostomia was the most commonly reported symptom (37 percent) to arise in the time since the previous interview. Twenty-nine percent had a dental benefit under Medicaid and 23 percent had private insurance. Eighteen percent had not revealed their HIV status to the dentist they usually saw. CONCLUSIONS: National data on adult medical patients with HIV provide a context for local or convenience sample studies and can help give direction to public health and public policy programs directed to the oral health needs of this population. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The attitudes and beliefs of adult HIV patients should be taken into account in the creation of community health education programs and continuing education for dentists. Medicaid programs should include adult dental benefits.

National estimates of out-of-pocket dental costs for HIV-infected users of medical care.

BACKGROUND: Out-of-pocket costs for U.S. dental care in 1996 were dollar 157 per person at the poverty level and dollar 229 for people with higher incomes. This article examines out-of-pocket expenditures for dental care in HIV-infected patients who took part in the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), conducted by a consortium of private and government institutions centered at the RAND Corp. METHODS: The HCSUS used a probability sampling design. The authors used a weighted sample of 2,466 HCSUS respondents to estimate the national population of HIV-infected users of medical care. The patients were asked to report how much they had spent on their dental care in the preceding 12 months, including payments made by them, their family or their friends--but not by insurance companies--for their dental care. RESULTS: In 1996, 135,000 HIV-infected subjects spent dollar 20.5 million on dental care, averaging dollar 152 per user. Whites spent dollar 220, African-Americans dollar 55 and Hispanics dollar 101. People receiving dental care from private dentists spent dollar 232 compared with dollar 7 spent by those who received care in AIDS clinics. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-half of the HIV-infected users of medical care identified private dentists as their source of dental care and spent the vast majority of the dollar 20.5 million. The remaining subjects identified public dental programs as their source of care and had low expenditures. The explanation for these low expenditures is the subsidization of public programs and the likelihood that fewer and less costly services are provided by such programs. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Dentists should be aware of out-of-pocket funds spent by the HIV-infected population in private practices and public programs. Any policy change reducing public funding may result in higher out-of-pocket costs for disadvantaged groups or in increasing disparities in access to dental services.

Oral white patches in a national sample of medical HIV patients in the era of HAART.

OBJECTIVES: Several types of HIV-related oral mucosal conditions have been reported to occur during the course of HIV disease progression. Of these, few may be manifested as 'white' lesions and many are noticeable to the patient. This paper examines the relationships between social, behavioral and medical aspects of HIV infection and reporting an occurrence of oral white patches (OWP) by HIV-infected patients. METHODS: The subjects are participants in all three interviews in the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS). The subjects were selected using a three-stage probability sampling design. The multivariate analysis is based on 2109 subjects with nonmissing binary outcome variable for all three waves representing a national sample of 214 000 individuals. The multivariate model was fitted using generalized estimating equations (GEE) by implementing the XTGEE command in STATA. RESULTS: We estimate that 75 000 persons (35%) reported at least one incident of OWP, of these 14 000 reported having OWP during all three interviews, and that the rate of reporting declined over the three HCSUS waves. The multivariate analysis showed seven variables that were significant predictors of at least one report of OWP. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with persons on HAART therapy, patients on other regimens or taking no antiviral medications were 23-46% more likely to report an incident of OWP. Compared with whites, African Americans were 32% less likely to report OWP, while current smokers were 62% more likely than nonsmokers. Being diagnosed with AIDS and having CD4 counts less than 500 significantly increased the likelihood of reporting OWP.

Impact of underreporting on the management of occupational bloodborne exposures in a dental teaching environment.

The objectives of this study were to determine the rates of bloodborne exposures experienced by junior and senior dental students at a large dental teaching institution during 2001-02 and the percentages of these bloodborne exposures that were reported by the students to their designated counselors. Two hundred and four third- and fourth-year students voluntarily and anonymously filled out a questionnaire on the numbers of bloodborne exposures they had experienced and reported. Sixty-seven (32.8 percent) reported experiencing 109 occupational exposures (OEs) to blood or other potentially infectious materials. This corresponds to an OE rate of 80 +/- 7.7 exposures/100 person-years, far in excess of the highest recorded student rate (7.18 +/- 0.52) in a previous study. Twenty-six students (39 percent) reported two or more exposures each. Only 19 percent of exposures were reported to the school counselor, with 35 percent reported by third-year students and only 14.5 percent by fourth-year students. Thus the large differential in reported exposure rates between third- and fourth-year students found in our earlier study might have been an artifact of the sharply different reporting rates of these two groups. These results suggest an urgent need to reexamine the reliability of the present reporting system for such OEs. Also this study indicates that the gender differences in OE rates reported in our earlier study were due primarily to differential reporting by male and female students, not differences in their underlying OE rates.

Halitosis.

Halitosis (oral malodor, bad breath) is a condition affecting millions of Americans and is a major concern to the general public. In healthy individuals complaining of bad breath, the mouth is the main source of their oral malodor, more specifically the posterior dorsum of the tongue. Halitosis may also indicate an underlying medical condition that necessitates treatment. In a patient with oral malodor for whom an underlying systemic problem has been ruled out, improved oral hygiene, removal of tongue plaque, and, if necessary, antibacterial mouth rinses are advised.