Clinical and histological features of gingival lesions : a 17-year retrospective analysis in a northern Italian population

Objectives: Only few studies on gingival lesions considered large enough populations and contemporary literature does not provide a valid report regarding the epidemiology of gingival lesions within the Italian population. The histopathological and clinical appearance of 538 gingival lesions from northern Italians are described and discussed here. Study Design: The case records of patients referred for the diagnosis and management of gingival lesions, from October 1993 to October 2009, were reviewed. Data regarding the histological type of lesion were also obtained from the biopsy register for each case, and blindly re-examined. Results: We reported a greater frequency of benign lesions (reactive and/or inflammatory) in non-plaque/non- calculus induced gingival disorders. We confirmed an unambiguous prevalence of oral squamous cell carcinoma above all other malignant neoplasia, and a prevalence of neoplastic malignant lesions in the maxilla, with a slight increase in females and a drift of the incidence peak from the seventh to the eighth decade. There was a prevalence of precancerous gingival lesions in the maxilla, with a higher incidence in females and with a drift from the sixth to the seventh decade. We also reported a prevalence of oral lichen planus and lichenoid lesions as major manifestations of desquamative gingivitis. Conclusions: The high frequency of gingival involvement of such different diseases emphasizes the importance of histological characterization and differential diagnosis for periodontists, but more prospective studies are needed to better describe the true incidence of the non-plaque related gingival diseases

Fibular osteofasciocutaneous flap in computer-assisted mandibular reconstruction: technical aspects in oral malignancies

Lutilizzo della pianificazione virtuale in chirurgia testa e collo è in forte crescita. In letteratura, la validità del metodo dal punto di vista dellacuratezza e lutilità clinica sono stati ampiamente documentati, in modo particolare per il rimodellamento osseo del lembo. Al giorno doggi, laumentato utilizzo della programmazione virtuale in chirurgia oncologica testa-collo e, conseguentemente, la maggiore necessità di ricostruzioni sia ossee che dei tessuti molli, rendono importante realizzare il programma virtuale considerando non solo la ricostruzione ossea, ma anche tutti gli aspetti relativi alla ricostruzione dei tessuti molli con lembi compositi. Descriviamo nel seguente articolo il nostro approccio alla pianificazione virtuale nel caso di lembi compositi. Lo studio riporta sei pazienti consecutivi con malattia maligna programmati mediante ricostruzione mandibolare computer assistita e lembi osteo-fascio-cutanei di perone. In tutti i sei pazienti, la resezione e la ricostruzione sono state progettate concentrandosi sulla posizione dei vasi perforanti cutanei, al fine di programmare la posizione più corretta delle guide di taglio a livello del perone in funzione della posizione dei vasi perforanti stessi. La tecnica descritta ci ha permesso di programmare lembi osteo-fascio-cutanei di perone nella ricostruzione mandibolare computer assistita, con buona precisione della posizione del segmento osseo rispetto alla padella cutanea, importante per la ricostruzione dei tessuti molli. Nonostante il numero limitato di casi, i risultati preliminari dello studio suggeriscono che questo protocollo è utile nella programmazione virtuale. Sono necessarie ulteriori indagini

Localized amyloidosis presenting with a penile mass: a case report

Amyloidosis is a disease characterized by the deposition of altered proteins in tissues. Amyloid deposition always occurs in the extracellular matrix and presents a fibrillary conformation. Local deposition of amyloid may occur in individual organs, without systemic involvement. We report here a rare case of localized penile shaft amyloidosis--an unusual location for amyloid deposition--presenting as a penile mass that resulted in a urethral stricture in 37-year old male patient. We have also comprehensively reviewed the literature regarding localized amyloidosis

Clinical validation of 13-Gene DNA methylation analysis from oral brushing: a non invasive sampling procedure for early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma. A multicentric study

1. Introduction In a recent study our research group described a non-invasive sampling procedure based on DNA methylation analysis of a set of 13 genes with a high level of accuracy (sensitivity 96.6%, specificity 100%) in the detection of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (OSCC) [1]. The purpose of the present study was to test the diagnostic performance of this non invasive sampling procedure in an italian multicentric study. 2. Materials and Methods Oral brushing specimens were collected in ten different italian units of oral medicine. Each oral medicine unit collected blindly 10 brushing specimens from patients affected by OSCC and an equal number of age and sex-matched healthy controls. 13-gene DNA methylation analysis was performed and each sample was considered positive or negative in relation to a predefined cut-off value. 3. Results 181 out of 200 planned specimens were analyzed. DNA could not be amplified in 4 cases (2.2%). 86/93 (92.5%) specimens derived from OSCC patients were detected as positive and 70/84 (83.3%) specimens derived from healthy donors showed a negative score. 4. Conclusions Data from multicentric study confirmed a high level of sensitivity of our procedure whereas level of specificity is slightly lower if compared to our previous study. These data suggest that our procedure may be proposed as a first level diagnostic test with the aim to avoid a diagnostic delay in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Conflicts of Interest: As a possible conflict of interest, L. Morandi and D.B.G. submitted a patent (the applicant is the University of Bologna) in November 2016 to the National Institute of 398 Industrial Property; however, we believe that this is a natural step of translational research (bench-to-bedside) 399 and guarantee that the scientific results are true. The remaining authors declare that they have no competing 400 interest

Chromosomal aberrations and aneuploidy in oral potentially malignant lesions: distinctive features for tongue

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mucosae of the oral cavity are different at the histological level but appear all equally exposed to common genotoxic agents. As a result of this exposure, changes in the mucosal epithelia may develop giving rise to Oral Potentially Malignant Lesions (OPMLs), which with time may in turn progress to Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OSCCs). Therefore, much effort should be devoted to identify features able to predict the likeliness of progression associated with an OPML. Such features may be helpful in assisting the clinician to establish both appropriate therapies and follow-up schedules. Here, we report a pilot study that compared the occurrence of DNA aneuploidy and chromosomal copy number aberrations (CNAs) in the OPMLs from different oral anatomical subsites.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Samples from histologically diagnosed OPMLs were processed for high resolution DNA flow cytometry (hr DNA-FCM) in order to determine the relative DNA content expressed by the DNA index (DI). Additionally, array-Comparative Genomic Hybridization (a-CGH) analysis was performed on DNA obtained from diploid nuclei suspensions directly. When aneuploid nuclei were detected, these were physically separated from diploid nuclei on the base of their DI values by means of a DNA-FCM-Sorter in order to improve the a-CGH analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Tongue OPMLs were more frequently associated with DNA aneuploidy and CNAs than OPMLs arising from all the other mucosal subsites.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We suggest that the follow-up and the management of the patients with tongue OPMLs should receive a distinctive special attention. Clearly, this hypothesis should be validated in a prospective clinical study.</p