Lymph node (LN) metastasis has been suggested as a major prognostic factor for oral cancer. Knockdown of the growth factors and receptors involved in these metastatic mechanisms could significantly reduce LN metastasis and improve the survival of oral cancer patients after treatment. The present study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the expression levels of the following growth factors and receptors in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue: the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C and VEGF-D, which bind to the cell surface tyrosine kinase receptor VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3); C-C motif chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7); neuropilin (NRP)1 and NRP2; and semaphorin 3E (SEMA3E). Furthermore, we assessed microvessel density (MVD) and lymphatic vessel density (LVD) to demonstrate the correlation between these factors and regional LN metastasis, with respect to the clinicopathological features. Finally, we analyzed the correlation between these proteins and overall or disease-free survival, in order to demonstrate their prognostic value. Univariate analysis revealed a significant association between LN metastasis and the expression levels of VEGF-C, VEGFR-3, CCR7, NRP1, and SEMA3E, as well as LVD, in SCC cells. In contrast, multivariate analysis identified associations between LN metastasis and NRP1 expression, as well as between LN metastasis and LVD; however, no correlation was found between LN metastasis and the expression levels of the other proteins. The expression levels of VEGF-C, VEGFR-3, NRP1, and SEMA3E, as well as LVD, were correlated with disease-free survival time. These results indicate that LN metastasis is associated with poor survival in SCC. This study suggests that NRP1 expression and LVD are independent factors that are likely to predict the risk of LN metastasis in SCC of the tongue, whereas the expression of VEGF-C, VEGFR-3, CCR7, and SEMA3E are non-independent predictive factors.

BACKGROUND Heterotopic gastrointestinal cysts have gastrointestinal epithelium in the cyst wall and rarely occur in the oral cavity. Most are found in the neonatal period. However, heterotopic gastrointestinal cysts that are diagnosed as a congenital tongue cyst by routine ultrasonography are extremely rare. CASE SUMMARY A 12-day-old female presented with swelling of the anterior tongue. The obstetrician had detected significant tongue swelling on fetal ultrasonography in the 35 th gestational week. The female was born by cesarean delivery at gestational week 39. She soon became dyspneic, and the cyst was aspirated. After the aspiration, her breathing recovered and she started breastfeeding. The cyst was excised under general anesthesia on the 67 th day. Histopathologic examination showed that that cyst wall consisted of a lining of columnar gastrointestinal-type epithelium and pseudostratified ciliated epithelium. The patient restarted breastfeeding 3 h after surgery. The postoperative course was uneventful. CONCLUSION Airway distress and feeding difficulty were successfully avoided by cyst aspiration, and surgical resection was performed with no perioperative complications.

Aims Since it is known that oral problems affect various medical diseases, the effects of restrictions on visits for dental treatment on exacerbations of various systemic medical diseases were examined. Method and materials The data were used from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey, a large-scale internet survey conducted in 2021 (n = 28,175). The questionnaires were distributed to 33,081 candidates who were selected to represent the Japanese population regarding age, sex and residential prefecture using a simple random sampling procedure. Patients currently undergoing treatment for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, asthma, cardiocerebrovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, atopic dermatitis, and mental illness, such as depression, were extracted from the total participants. Then, whether discontinuation of dental treatment affected the exacerbation of their systemic disease was examined. Results Overall, 50-60% of patients with each systemic disease had continued to receive dental treatment, and 4-8% of them had discontinued dental treatment. On univariate and multivariate analyses, discontinuation of dental treatment is a risk factor in the exacerbation of diabetes mellitus, hypertensive conditions, asthma, cardiocerebrovascular disease and hyperlipidemia. Conclusion The present epidemiological study showed the relationship between oral health and systemic health, which can provide meaningful insights regarding future medical-dental collaboration in Japan. Supplementary Information Zusatzmaterial online: Zu diesem Beitrag sind unter 10.1038/s41415-023-5690-3 für autorisierte Leser zusätzliche Dateien abrufbar.

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