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Objective: Whether oral lichen planus (OLP) was potentially malignant remains controversial. Here, we examined associations of ZNF582 methylation (ZNF582m) with OLP lesions, dysplastic features and squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and Methods: This is a case–control study. ZNF582m was evaluated in both lesion and adjacent normal sites of 42 dysplasia, 90 OSCC and 43 OLP patients, whereas ZNF582m was evaluated only in one mucosal site of 45 normal controls. High‐risk habits affecting ZNF582m such as betel nut chewing and cigarette smoking were also compared in those groups. Results: OLP lesions showed significantly lower ZNF582m than those of dysplasia and OSCC. At adjacent normal mucosa, ZNF582m increased from patients of OLP, dysplasia, to OSCC. In addition, ZNF582m at adjacent normal sites in OLP patients was comparable to normal mucosa in control group. Dysplasia/OSCC patients with high‐risk habits exhibited significantly higher ZNF582m than those without high‐risk habits. However, ZNF582m in OLP patients was not affected by those high‐risk habits. Conclusions: OLP is unlikely to be potentially malignant based on ZNF582m levels. ZNF582m may also be a potential biomarker for distinguishing OLP from true dysplastic features and OSCC, and for monitoring the malignant transformation of OLP, potentially malignant disorders with dysplastic features and OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Visual oral examination (VOE) is a conventional oral cancer screening method. This study aimed to evaluate the value of methylation marker to assist VOE in identifying oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OED/OSCC) from non-cancerous lesions in a real-world situation. Methods: 201 patients with high-risk personal habits who self-perceived oral anomaly were VOE examined, ZNF582 methylation (ZNF582m) tested, and histologically diagnosed. Results: Among them, 132 patients (65.7%) were histologically diagnosed OED/OSCC. Using VOE, 56.1% OED/OSCC patients had possible oral cancer, whereas 37.7% non-OED/OSCC patients had leukoplakia. ZNF582m-positive was detected in 90.2% OED/OSCC patients and 44.9% non-OED/OSCC patients. Various logistic regression models were postulated to evaluate the diagnostic performance of conventional VOE and new strategies using ZNF582m. ROC analysis and its corresponding C-index demonstrated that either triage or co-testing models of VOE and ZNF582m could improve diagnostic performance and discriminative abilities compared with the VOE only approach. Conclusions: In conclusion, methylation marker test shows equivalent performance to an experienced judgment by oral maxillofacial surgeons and plays a significantly supplementary role in increasing the efficacy in identifying oral malignant lesions. ZNF582m may be an especially important tool for family physicians or general dentists to properly diagnose suspicious oral lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sesamin is a lignin present in sesame oil from the bark of Zanthoxylum spp. Sesamin reportedly has anticarcinogenic potential and exerts anti-inflammatory effects on several tumors. Hypothesis/Purpose: However, the effect of sesamin on metastatic progression in human head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unknown in vitro and in vivo; hence, we investigated the effect of sesamin on HNSCC cells in vitro. Methods and Results: Sesamin-treated human oral cancer cell lines FaDu, HSC-3, and Ca9-22 were subjected to a wound-healing assay. Furthermore, Western blotting was performed to assess the effect of sesamin on the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and proteins of the MAPK signaling pathway, including p-ERK1/2, P-p38, and p-JNK1/2. In addition, we investigated the association between MMP-2 expression and the MAPK pathway in sesamin-treated oral cancer cells. Sesamin inhibited cell migration and invasion in FaDu, Ca9-22, and HSC-3 cells and suppressed MMP-2 at noncytotoxic concentrations (0 to 40 μM). Furthermore, sesamin significantly reduced p38 MAPK and JNK phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner in FaDu and HSC-3 cells. Conclusions: These results indicate that sesamin suppresses the migration and invasion of HNSCC cells by regulating MMP-2 and is thus a potential antimetastatic agent for treating HNSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]