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Background Chronic wounds were previously related to cancer. Chronic Traumatic Ulcers (CTU) are lesions caused by chronic mechanical irritation (CMI) frequently diagnosed in Oral Medicine. Although these conditions may reflect a benign nature, some authors have proposed its relationship with malignant transformation. Currently, there are scarce investigations that evaluate biomarkers within CTU. The aim of this study was to evaluate cell differentiation and proliferation biomarkers patterns of CTU and OSCC through recognized markers such as cytokeratin 19 and Ki67 and correlate it with clinical features of both groups of patients. Material and Methods A Cross-sectional study of adult patients (n=79), both sexes, attended at Oral Medicine Department, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. The patients were classified into two groups: CTU (n=41), and OSCC (n=38). A subset of specimens were immunolabeled with Ki67 and Ck19. Results The population consisted of 51.9% male and 48.1% female, with an average of 57.0 ± 13.9. years (OSCC group) and 60.9 ± 14.9 years (CTU group). OSCC group presented higher scores for both biomarkers (Ki67 and Ck19), but only there were differences statistically significant for Ki67 ( p =0.032). 25% of non-healing CTU were positive with medium scores of Ck19 and showed an immunohistochemical profile similar to OSCC. The lateral tongue was the most frequent site in both groups. Conclusions The altered immunohistochemical pattern found in many specimens of CTU was also observed in OSCC. The tongue border presents physiological conditions that could offer a suitable environment for the development of neoplastic events associated with CMI. Further studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms that could link oral non-healing ulcers with early malignant changes. Key words: Ck19, Ki67, Oral Cancer, Chronic Traumatic Ulcer, Chronic Mechanical Irritation.

Background: Non-homogeneous results about the frequency of HPV in leukoplakia are presented in current literature, possibly linked to different factors. Among them, a diverse HPV geographical distribution was suggested. This study aimed to describe the frequency of HPV in patients diagnosed with leukoplakia. Patients & Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. HPV status was studied by polymerase-chain reaction (HPV-PCR) and p16 by immunohistochemistry. HPV status was analyzed concerning the clinical-demographic features using the Fisher test and the McNemar test. Results: There were included 33 patients diagnosed with different subtypes of oral leukoplakia. HPV genome was detected by PCR in 48.5% (n=16). The most common viral genotype was HPV16. p16 was positive in 27% (n=9) of the cases. The concordance between HPV detection techniques showed poor or weak agreement (Mc Nemar 0.1185). Except for chronic mechanical irritation with HPV-PCR + (p=0.0049), and tongue location with HPV-PCR + (p=0.0366), no significant statistical association between the other included variables was found. Conclusions: The low frequency of HPV in this study agrees with previous studies of our region. Chronic mechanical irritation could play a role in the development of HPV-associated leukoplakias, mainly located on the ventrolateral tongue.

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