Expression of podoplanin in oral premalignant and malignant lesions and its potential as a biomarker

Aim: To analyze and compare the expression of podoplanin in normal oral tissues, leukoplakia and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and to predict its use as a biomarker. Materials and Methods: Ninety-two formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue samples comprising of 32 cases of leukoplakia, 50 cases of OSCCs and ten normal gingival samples. The samples were retrieved from archives and immunohistochemically analyzed using podoplanin. Appendix tissue samples were used for control purposes. The results were tabulated and statistically analyzed using ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis test with post-hoc tests, where demographic details are compared and analyzed using Pearson Chi-square test. Results: The study results showed, absence of podoplanin expression in the epithelium of all the gingival samples (Group I). Positive podoplanin expression noticed in 19 out of 32 (59.4%) cases of leukoplakia (Group II) and 41 out of 50 (82%) cases of OSCCs (Group III). The expression of podoplanin among different groups was highly significant (P = 0.000). Conclusion: The podoplanin may be considered as a predictor marker in assessing malignant transformation of premalignancies and prognosis of oral malignancy. Indeed it is believed that podoplanin might play a role in tumor progression though exact mechanism is not fully elucidated. Further research is required to understand its exact pathophysiology

Capillary Hemangioma Managed With Laser Ablation: A Case Report: Laser excision in a case of oral hemangioma

Introduction: Hemangiomas are hamartomatous benign tumours of the vascular tissue, which are common among infants and adolescents and are found in the head and neck region. Oral hemangiomas are infrequently encountered in the palate. Baseline soft tissue imaging must be considered for an appropriate diagnosis and treatment approach.Case Report: A 68-year-old female presented with a painless growth in the roof of her mouth that gradually increased in size. She was subjected to intraoral ultrasonography and was diagnosed with capillary hemangioma. In this instance, laser ablation was chosen as the preferred treatment due to the complications associated with conventional surgery.Conclusion: This case report enlightens the systematic diagnostic approach and treatment plan

Psammomatoid juvenile ossifying fibroma of the jaws

Juvenile ossifying fibroma is an uncommon, benign, bone-forming neoplasm with aggressive local growth that is distinguished from other fibro-osseous lesions primarily by its age of onset, clinical presentation and aggressive behavior. Although a benign entity, juvenile ossifying fibroma is known to be locally aggressive and has a high tendency to recur. Two distinctive microscopic patterns have been described: A trabecular variant and a psammomatoid variant. This latter variant is predominantly a craniofacial lesion and occurs rarely in the jaws. We present herein two cases of psammomatoid juvenile ossifying fibroma involving the jaws. The first case was a mandibular lesion in a 31-year-old female whereas the second case presented with maxillary involvement in a 46-year-old female. In addition, the pathology of the lesion was analyzed with confocal laser scanning microscopy