Diagnosis of Epidermoid Carcinoma of the Tongue after Treatment of Epidermoid Carcinoma of the Esophagus.

In the present case report, a patient with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) developed a second primary tumor in the tongue at the same time. Stage III middle esophageal SCC was discovered in a 60-year-old Caucasian male patient who was institutionalized, a smoker, and had previously struggled with alcoholism. Following treatment, the patient was admitted to the hospital for 15 days due to dysphagia and malnutrition. According to him, he had mouth pain while in the hospital. An intraoral examination revealed tooth mobility, bacterial plaque, dental calculus, and a 1.3-cm ulcerated lesion on the right lateral edge of the tongue. During the extraoral examination, no palpable lymph nodes were found in the submandibular or cervical regions. The tongue lesion was excisionally biopsied, and the histological evaluation agreed. The patient was advised to seek treatment for tongue SCC. Given that patients with esophageal SCC have a 9.3%-11.4% risk of developing head-and-neck SCC, multiprofessional follow-up of patients with esophageal SCC is critical for early detection of this cancer.

The role of the histones H3K9ac, H3K9me3, HP1γ, and H3K36me3 in oral squamous cell carcinoma loco-regional metastasis and relapse.

Molecular markers with unequivocal significance in predicting cervical lymph node metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not yet been identified. Histones are DNA-binding proteins that can regulate gene expression, and some studies have shown that such proteins are implicated with tumor development and progression. This study aimed to investigate the expression of some histone modifications in OSCC and their roles in cervical lymph node metastasis. To address this goal, H3K9ac, H3K9me3, HP1γ, and H3K36me3 expression levels were investigated immunohistochemically in a retrospective metastatic and non-metastatic OSCC samples. We analyzed the association between these markers with clinical-pathological data and survival rates. Hyperacetylation of H3K9ac was associated with cervical lymph node metastasis and local relapse. High expression levels of H3K9m3 were related to age and symptomatology. Furthermore, it was also found a statistically significant association between high HP1γ-expressing tumors and tumor size. However, no markers were associated with reduced overall survival rate. Our results suggest that covalent histone modifications contribute to OSCC behavior, and H3K9ac may play a critical role in OSCC-derived cervical lymph node metastasis.

Pathologic significance of AKT, mTOR, and GSK3ß proteins in oral squamous cell carcinoma-affected patients.

Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases are kinases that lead to AKT phosphorylation and thus mTOR and GSK3ß activation. These proteins are linked to tumorigenesis, but their roles in driving cervical lymph node (CLN) metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the role of AKT, mTOR, and GSK3ß proteins in the occurrence of CLN metastasis in OSCC patients. Ninety and 18 paraffin-embedded OSCC and oral mucosa samples were included, respectively. We divided our OSCC patients into non-metastasizing (PNM) and metastasizing (PM) groups, and the expression of total AKT, pAKT1Thr308, pAKTSer473, GSK3ß, pGSK3ßSer9, and pmTORSer2448 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The mean expression of GSK3ß, pGSK3ßSer9, total AKT, and pmTOR2448 was always higher in the OSCC tissues than that in the controls. A positive correlation was also found among these proteins. Total AKT, pmTORSer2448, and pGSK3ßSer9 expression was significantly higher in the PNM and PM groups than that in the control group. However, only GSK3ß expression was significantly higher in the PM group compared with the PNM group. High expression levels of GSK3ß and pGSK3ßSer9 were significantly associated with CLN metastasis, but only GSK3ß remained an independent predictor of CLN metastasis. pGSK3ßSer9 and CLN metastasis were associated with a poor prognosis, but only the latter remained an independent prognostic parameter. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that pGSK3ßSer9 and CLN metastasis were significantly related to reduced survival rates. These results suggest that AKT and mTOR proteins are involved in OSCC biology and that GSK3ß itself may drive CLN metastatic spread of OSCC cells.

Metastases of Melanoma to Head and Neck Mucosa: A Report of Short Series.

OBJECTIVES: Metastasis of melanoma to the head and neck mucosa is a very unusual condition. The aim of this study was to report four cases of patients with metastatic melanoma in the head and neck mucosa treated at a single institution. METHODS: Clinical data were obtained from the medical records. All cases were histologically reviewed to confirm the diagnosis, and immunohistochemical reactions were performed in the cases submitted to biopsy. RESULTS: All patients were males and the mean age was 40.5 years old. The sites of the metastatic tumors were gingival mucosa, floor of the mouth, oropharynx, and larynx. Two tumors appeared as submucosal nodules with normal color; one lesion was a blackish nodular lesion, and one was shown to be an ulcerated lesion. The size of tumors ranged from 2.0 to 4.0 cm. All patients had developed systemic disease at time of diagnosis of metastatic tumor in the head and neck mucosa. Survival rates ranged from 2 to 19 months after the diagnosis of the metastatic mucosal melanoma in the head and neck region. CONCLUSION: Although rare, patients with melanoma must be closely and regularly followed up, with careful routine examination of head and neck, because metastatic tumors in this region seem to be part of a lethal widespread metastatic disease.

Paracoccidioidomycosis: a series of 66 patients with oral lesions from an endemic area.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is the most important systemic mycosis in Latin America. It has been regarded as a multifocal disease, with oral lesions as the prominent feature. To provide useful information concerning the diagnosis and management of the disease, this study describes demographic and clinical data from the medical records of a consecutive series of 66 Brazilian patients from an endemic area, evaluated in a referral centre for oral diagnosis. In this sample of patients, there was a predominance of middle-aged male patients, who were primarily rural workers. Chronic multifocal disease was prevalent, with lesions also detected in the lungs, lymph nodes, skin or adrenal glands. Most of the cases presented with lesions at the gingival mucosa followed by the palate and lips; these conditions occurring in the oral cavity were frequently associated with pain. Importantly, most of the patients sought professional care for oral lesions. The diagnosis was obtained through exfoliative cytology and/or biopsy of the oral lesions. Medical treatment was effective, and there were no mortalities in the sample. The present findings not only confirm the importance of oral lesions in the diagnosis and management of PCM but also illustrate that questions still remain unclear, such as the possibility of direct inoculation of the fungus onto oral tissues.