Search

Background: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are overexpressed in a variety of human malignancies. They are involved in tumor cell proliferation, differentiation, invasion, metastasis, death, and immune system detection. HSP 70 has been shown to resist cytotoxicity in cancer cells and even enhance tumor development through an immune escape mechanism, suggesting that HSP70 may play a role in carcinogenesis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of HSP70 as a predictive marker for malignant transformation in oral epithelial dysplasia., Materials and Methods: Thirty samples of epithelial dysplasia (10 mild dysplasia, 10 moderate dysplasia, and 10 severe dysplasia/carcinoma-in-situ cases), 10 samples of well-differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and 10 samples of normal oral mucosa were routinely processed, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and immunohistochemically examined for HSP70 expressions. To determine the statistical difference between two groups, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Mann-Whitney test were used., Results: HSP70 expression was high but not homogenous in normal mucosa. Dysplasia showed an initial drop, and the expression increased with increasing degrees of dysplasia. There was no statistically significant difference across various types of epithelial dysplasia. From dysplasias to well-differentiated carcinoma, HSP70 exhibited a considerable rise., Conclusion: Overexpression of HSP70 in clinically suspicious and histologically established epithelial dysplasia may suggest a likelihood of transformation to well-differentiated OSCC and may have a prognostic value. However, more studies with a bigger sample size are needed to prove HSP70's role as a predictor., (Copyright © 2023 Copyright: © 2023 Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics.)

Background: Cytokeratins are the largest sub-group of intermediate filaments and represent the most abundant proteins in epithelial cells. CYFRA 21-1 (human cytokeratin fragment antigen 21-1) is a soluble fragment of cytokeratin 19 known to increase in various malignancies., Aim: The present study is aimed to estimate salivary and serum levels of CYFRA 21-1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients and to compare them with healthy controls., Settings and Design: A prospective, case-control study., Material and Methods: This study included a total of 80 subjects, comprising 40 OSCC patients and 40 healthy controls. Saliva and blood samples were collected from the study population, and serum and salivary CYFRA 21-1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., Statistical Analysis Used: The statistical tests applied were independent t -test, ANOVA test for comparison, and Post hoc test for correlation. A P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: A statistically significant increase in salivary and serum CYFRA 21-1 levels was observed between OSCC and control groups and with an increase in the pathological tumour node metastasis stage and histopathological grade of OSCC. On correlating salivary and serum CYFRA 21-1 values, there were 3-fold higher salivary levels than serum., Conclusion: CYFRA 21-1 can be suggested as a tumour marker that can be used for the early diagnosis of the OSCC. Further prospective studies with a larger sample size and advanced techniques recommended before CYFRA 21-1 can be recommended for routine clinical use., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.)

Introduction: Lipids play an important role in the maintenance of cell integrity. Various tobacco-associated products are known to induce the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species, responsible for the high rate of oxidation/peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These further release peroxide radicals, causing increased utilization of lipids leading to hypolipidemia., Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the lipid profile pattern of patients with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with healthy controls., Material and Methods: The study included 90 subjects with 30 OPMDs, 30 OSCC and 30 healthy controls. Fasting blood samples were collected from subjects and were analysed for serum lipids, including the following: i) Total cholesterol (TC) ii) High-density lipoproteins (HDL) iii) Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) iv) Very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) v) Triglycerides (TG) vi) CHO/HDL ratio by using semi auto analyser., Statistical Analysis Used: The statistical tests used were the independent t-test, ANOVA test. A P value of <0.05 and <0.01 was considered statistically significant., Results: A statistically significant decrease in serum TC, LDL and CHO/HDL ratio was observed among OPMD and OSCC groups than controls, whereas a significant decrease in serum VLDL and TG (p value <0.01) in poorly differentiated OSCC was seen., Conclusion: The study shows an association between lipid variations and OPMD and OSCC. Low levels of lipids could be due to the rapidly dividing cells in premalignancies and malignancies utilizing them for new membrane biogenesis. Thus, lower lipid status may be a useful indicator for initial changes happening in neoplastic cells., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.)

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most devastating neoplasm with dramatic increase in morbidity and mortality. The detection and prognostic evaluation of precancerous lesions could aid in early control of cancer. Heat shock protein (HSP) 27 has found to be a biomarker and therapeutic target in different types of cancer., Aim: This study aims to investigate the role of HSP 27 as prognostic molecular indicator of malignant transformation in oral epithelial dysplasias., Materials and Methods: Thirty samples of epithelial dysplasia (10 mild dysplasia, 10 moderate dysplasia, and 10 severe dysplasia/carcinoma in situ cases), 10 samples each of well-differentiated OSCC and normal oral mucosa were routinely processed, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and analyzed for HSP27 expression by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was done by one way-ANOVA and Mann-Whitney test to assess the differences between two individual groups., Results: Normal mucosa showed intense, but nonuniform, expression of HSP27. An initial decline was noted in dysplasias. A significant correlation of HSP27 expression was observed with the severity of dysplasia and well-differentiated OSCC ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Low HSP 27 expression can be considered as early molecular indicator of initial dysplastic change in normal mucosa. An overexpression of HSP 27 in clinically and histologically confirmed dysplasia could indicate likely transformation to well-differentiated OSCC and could be of prognostic value. However, further studies with a larger sample size are required to confirm the role of HSP 27 as predictive indicator., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Journal of Microscopy and Ultrastructure.)

Introduction: Histopathological diagnosis of odontogenic cysts and tumors is a task mostly accomplished with hematoxylin and eosin staining. However, the use of additional diagnostic modalities such as immunohistochemistry may be necessary in histologically similar lesions. The reports of studies which have used calretinin as an immunohistochemical marker for ameloblastoma have been conflicting., Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of calretinin as a specific diagnostic marker for ameloblastoma and observe its expression in odontogenic cysts and other odontogenic tumors., Materials and Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections were taken from the archives which included 15 cases each of dentigerous cyst, radicular cyst, odontogenic keratocyst and ameloblastoma five cases of adenomatoid odontogenic tumor and three cases of ameloblastic carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry was done with calretinin antibody., Results: All ameloblastomas were positive for calretinin, whereas no other tumor or cyst showed positivity. Differences in proportion of calretinin expression were statistically significant with P = 0.000., Conclusion: Calretinin can be considered as a specific marker for ameloblastomas., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.)

Introduction: In dentistry, extracted human teeth are routinely used to learn technical and preclinical skills. Since human teeth harbour many pathogens these should be disinfected before use to minimize the risk of infections. Some commonly used disinfectants in laboratories are 10% formalin, 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), 5.25% Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl), 70% alcohol and normal saline which have their own disadvantages like carcinogenicity, toxicity, cost effectiveness etc. Many studies have been conducted using these solutions but there is no evidence to suggest a suitable alternative for disinfecting extracted teeth. Vinegar is a sour liquid comprised mainly of acetic acid. It is cheap and commercially available shown to be effective in the prevention and control of microbial contamination., Aim: The present study was conducted for evaluation of vinegar as a disinfectant for extracted teeth., Materials and Methods: In this study a total of 40 (n=40) extracted non carious teeth were taken which were disinfected with various physical methods such as sterilization, autoclaving and chemical methods by using Vinegar, 70% Alcohol, 10% Formalin, 3% Hydrogen peroxide and 5.25% NaOCL. Later, teeth from each group were placed individually in separate test tubes containing 10ml of brain heart infusion broth at 37°C for 48 hrs to observe the evidence of growth of microorganisms., Results: Results were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test. Vinegar, 10% Formalin and 3% Hydrogen peroxide were effective. The results were statistically significant with Kruskal-Wallis test value 28.053 and p-value was <0.001., Conclusion: Vinegar can be used as an effective disinfectant for extracted human teeth.

Background: Biased results from poorly reported trials can mislead decision-making in health care at all levels, from treatment decisions for the individual patient to formulation of national public health policies., Objective: To evaluate the quality of reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in ten Indian dental journals over the period 2011-2012., Materials and Methods: This study included all RCTs published as full-text articles reported in ten Indian dental journals over the period from 2011 to 2012. The relevant trials were identified by searching Medline. Hand searching of the journals was also carried out by three of the authors to check if any potential trial was missing. Each article was assessed against the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials criteria tool, as described by Schulz et al. (2010)., Results: The mean number of criteria present per article was 12.2 (standard deviation [SD] =2.2) and only 5 of 106 articles got total possible score. Most of the articles (69%) did not mention about justification for sample size calculation, 89% of the articles did not mention about allocation concealment, 86% of the articles did not mention about funding and 63% of the articles did not mention about limitations of the study., Conclusion: The quality of reporting of Randomized clinical trials in ten Indian academic journals was poor.

Brown tumor is a rare nonneoplastic focal giant cell lesion that occurs in hyperparathyroidism patients with a prevalence rate of 0.1% in jaws. We report an extremely rare case of brown tumor in mandible of a 40-year-old female patient that presented as the first clinical manifestation of hyperparathyroidism. Dentist played a pivotal role in the present case by the early diagnosis of lesion and its intervention., Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interests.

Background: Age estimation is an important factor in establishing the identity of a person. Among various techniques, dental age estimation is helpful in estimating the age in children above 16 years of age. Determination of age using developmental stages of teeth is more useful than using tooth eruption., Materials and Methods: A total of 550 orthopantomographs of 248 males and 302 females aged between 15 and 22 years were taken and evaluated by Demirjian's tooth mineralization stages. Statistical assessment was done using logistic regression analysis., Results: Complete apical closure of third molars was observed at the age of 20.4 years in 50% of males. Gender is also thought to influence mineralization and males showed early apical closure than females. Mean value testing is also done but showed influence of high and lower end age groups on age estimation., Conclusion: Finally, we conclude that, though the exact age of a person cannot be determined, the Demirjian's stage at which 18 years of age is attained can be found out.

Rushton bodies are peculiar, eosinophilic, linear, curved or straight, polycyclic, glassy structures occurring with variable frequency in the epithelial lining of odontogenic cysts, whose presence occasionally contributes to the diagnosis. Presence of these structures depends upon the sectioning plane of specimen. They are easily identifiable by their peculiar morphological and staining patterns. There is considerably ambiguity about the nature and epithelial, vascular, odontogenic or keratinous origin of these hyaline bodies. This article highlights the occurrence, light and electron microscopic features and histogenesis of Rushton bodies.

Eruption of tooth into extraosseous locations is an extremely rare condition. We report a case of a six-year-old girl child with tooth-like structure erupting from the right buccal mucosa. Clinical, radiographic, and histopathologic examination suggested the diagnosis of compound odontoma. Very few cases have been reported so far, where tooth has been located completely in the soft tissue and a variety of names have been used for that condition. A brief review of the literature and the ambiguity in naming the situation is discussed.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the attitude of dental students towards considering Public Health Dentistry as their future career., Materials and Methods: A questionnaire based, cross-sectional survey was conducted, which included dental students from different years of study. It consisted of 27 questions that were graded on five point Likert scale., Results: A total of 293 of the 320 registered undergraduate students participated in the study, with an overall response rate of 91.5%. Among the sample, 80 (27%) were males and 213 (73%) were females. Among the total sample which was studied, it was observed that only one third (35.4%) of them had high attitude towards selecting Public Health Dentistry as a future career, and nearly two thirds of them (58.02%) had an average attitude, with very few students having low attitude (6.48%)., Conclusion: The present study concluded that there was an average attitude of 58% among dental students, which showed that they had a considerable amount of interest in pursuing post graduation in this speciality. Efforts should be intensified, both by dental council and by the dental colleges, to develop this speciality, keeping in mind the increasing attitude of dental undergraduates towards it. This also helps in increasing the number of dental personnel who are specialized in implementation of oral health policy, which does not exist in India.

Amyloid involvement of the tongue is almost always secondary to systemic amyloidosis. Isolated amyloidosis of the tongue is relatively rare and it accounts for less than 9% of all types of amyloidosis. We are presenting a case of a 54-year-old male patient who complained of an enlarged tongue and bilateral multiple swellings on the lateral borders of the tongue, which had been there since one year. Bilaterally symmetrical, violaceous, purpuric patches interspersed with nodules were seen surrounding the eyes. Histopathologically, the lesion exhibited homogenous eosinophilic amyloid-like material. Special staining with Congo red showed amyloid material as peach red colour under light microscopy and as apple green birefringence under polarized light. Based on these observations, a definitive diagnosis of amyloidosis of tongue was made. Amyloidosis of tongue is uncommon and its features resemble those of a benign tumour. A battery of tests is necessary to differentiate localized amyloidosis from its systemic forms.

Primary oral mucosal melanoma is a rare aggressive neoplasm and accounts for only 0.2-8% of all reported melanomas. It is a malignant neoplasm of melanocytes that may arise from a benign melanocytic lesion or de novo from melanocytes within normal skin or mucosa. It is considered to be the most deadly and biologically unpredictable of all human neoplasms, having the worst prognosis. In this article, we report a case of oral melanoma in a 52-year-old female patient with a chief complaint of black discolouration of the maxillary gingiva and palate.

Glandular odontogenic cyst (GOC) is a rare aggressive developmental cyst of the jaw. It most commonly occurs in middle-aged people with mandible anterior region being the most affected site. This lesion can present as a unilocular or multilocular radiolucency and has high recurrence rate. The histopathologic features of the GOC are complex and often coincide with the features of dentigerous cyst, radicular cyst, and low-grade central mucoepidermoid carcinoma (CMEC). At times, the microscopic features are so similar to central low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma that it becomes highly impossible to distinguish the two entities even with various advanced investigations. The reported case represents one such diagnostic dilemma occurring in the maxilla which is a rare site, and the lesion/s appeared as two distinct entities, that is, GOC and CMEC on either aspects of the same side of maxilla clinically, yet showing continuity on advanced imaging and demonstrating histopathological perplexity.