These findings suggest an anti-tumoral role of eosinophils not as yet well understood that should be better investigated.

The neurofibroma occurs as isolated or multiple lesions frequently associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and histopathological features of neurofibromas, particularly the plexiform variant, in the skin and oral mucosa, discussing their pathogenesis as well as clinical management of isolated lesion unassociated with NF1. The clinicopathologic features of 66 neurofibromas in the head and neck region diagnosed at the pathology laboratories of the Bauru Dentistry School and Lauro de Souza Lima Research Institute from 1970 to 2003 were reviewed. The clinical data, therapy, and follow-up information were obtained from the medical records. The results showed a high frequency of cutaneous lesions (81.8%) occurring mainly in females older than 40 years. Isolated neurofibromas were found in 51.2% of patients, and multiple lesions were often associated with the NF-1. The histopathological analysis demonstrated that diffused neurofibromas occur more frequently than the plexiform type. However, one case of plexiform neurofibroma was detected in the oral mucosa as an isolated lesion non-associated with the NF-1. The indolent clinical behavior of isolated neurofibromas in the head and neck region and the absence of NF-1 association reinforce that sporadic lesion could be hyperplastic or hamartomatous rather than neoplastic in nature.

Oral verrucous carcinoma (OVC) is a rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma with a characteristic morphology and specific behavior. To date, few studies are available focusing the prevalence and clinicopathologic features of the oral verrucous carcinoma in Brazilian population. A total of 3,500 primary oral well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma surgically excised in the A.C. Camargo Cancer Hospital and Amaral Carvalho Cancer Hospital, Brazil, from 1980 to 2000 were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty cases of verrucous carcinomas were identified, most of them occurring in older male with age above the sixth decade, the sites frequently affected being the lower lip and the hard palate. Microscopically, the tumor showed a heavily keratinized lesion with compressive invasion pattern, little atypia, and free surgical margins. The local recurrence was verified in 38.5% of the patients with oral verrucous carcinoma; however, regional recurrence and distant metastasis were not verified. The results suggest that, although it is less frequent and with excellent prognosis, the verrucous carcinoma presents a potential for local recurrence that should be considered during the surgical planning of this neoplasm in the oral cavity.

Chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis is a frequent therapeutic challenge in cancer patients. The purpose of this retrospective study was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of oral mucositis in 169 acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) patients treated according to different chemotherapeutic trials at the Darcy Vargas Children's Hospital from 1994 to 2005. Demographic data, clinical history, chemotherapeutic treatment and patients' follow-up were recorded. The association of oral mucositis with age, gender, leucocyte counts at diagnosis and treatment was assessed by the chi-squared test and multivariate regression analysis. Seventy-seven ALL patients (46%) developed oral mucositis during the treatment. Patient age (P = 0.33), gender (P = 0.08) and leucocyte counts at diagnosis (P = 0.34) showed no correlation with the occurrence of oral mucositis. Multivariate regression analysis showed a significant risk for oral mucositis (P = 0.009) for ALL patients treated according to the ALL-BFM-95 protocol. These results strongly suggest the greater stomatotoxic effect of the ALL-BFM-95 trial when compared with Brazilian trials. We concluded that chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis should be systematically analysed prospectively in specialized centres for ALL treatment to establish the degree of toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs and to improve the quality of life of patients based on more effective therapeutic and prophylactic approaches for prevention of its occurrence.

These results suggest that the eotaxin expressed in oral squamous cell carcinomas, mainly derived from eosinophils, is probably involved in the mechanisms of eosinophils chemotaxis to the tumour and in the maintenance of TATE in these malignant tumours.

These results suggest that the clinical and biologic course of BSCC is similar to PDSCC in the oral cavity when clinical stage and site are matched.

Podoplanin seems to be related to the proliferative activity of KCOTS and may have a role in the process of local invasion of odontogenic tumours with and without ectomesenchyme.

BackgroundMoesin is a member of the ERM (ezrin, radixin and moesin) proteins that participate in cell migration and tumor invasion through transductional signals sent to actin filaments by glycoproteins, such as podoplanin.MethodsThis study aimed to evaluate the participation of moesin and podoplanin in the invasive tumor front of oral squamous cell carcinomas, and their influence on patients’ prognosis. Podoplanin and moesin immunoexpressions were evaluated by a semi-quantitative score method, based on the capture of 10 microscopic fields, at 400X magnification, in the invasive tumor front of oral squamous cell carcinomas. The association of moesin and podoplanin expression with clinicopathological variables was analyzed by the chi-square, or Fisher’s exact test. The 5 and 10 years survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the survival curves were compared by using the log-rank test.ResultsThe immunohistochemical expression of moesin in the invasive front of oral squamous cell carcinomas was predominantly strong, homogenously distributed on the membrane and in the cytoplasm of tumor cells. The expression of moesin was not associated with clinical, demographic and microscopic features of the patients. Otherwise, podoplanin expression by malignant epithelial cells was predominantly strong and significantly associated with radiotherapy (p = 0.004), muscular invasion (p = 0.006) and lymph node involvement (p = 0.013). Strong moesin expression was considered an unfavorable prognostic factor for patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas, clinical stage II and III (p = 0.024).ConclusionsThese results suggested that strong moesin expression by malignant cells may help to determine patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and poor prognosis.