Angiomatosis in the Head and Neck—3 Case Reports

Angiomatosis is a diffuse vascular lesion which involves a large segment of the body in a contiguous fashion involving multiple tissues (e.g. subcutis, muscle, bone, adipose tissue etc.) in different planes. Such lesions usually present in the first two decades of life with female predilection and are commonly seen in lower extremities. It clinically mimics hemangioma or vascular malformation and its surgical removal is difficult because of its infiltrative nature and thus has high recurrence rate (90%). Therefore a precise histopathological diagnosis of angiomatosis is important to achieve a curative resection. Histopathologically it consists of proliferating blood vessels of varying caliber, infiltrating into the soft tissues. Proliferating capillaries are seen within or adjacent to major vessels. Few cases are reported in head and neck region. This article highlights three unusual cases of angiomatosis reported as benign lesions, in rare sites such as the malar region (predominantly infiltrating the adipose tissue), within the masseter (predominantly infiltrating the muscle) and in the mandible (infiltrating the bone). Histopathological differential diagnosis is also discussed

Comparing the efficacy of coconut oil and xylene as a clearing agent in the histopathology laboratory

Background: The commonly used clearing agent, xylene is supposed to be highly toxic and carcinogenic. As previous research studies have shown the effectiveness of different vegetable oils as clearants, this study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of coconut oil. Materials and Methods: Two equal halves of 60 soft tissue specimens were processed simultaneously in xylene and coconut oil as clearing agents. The Xylene-treated specimens (XY-S) and Coconut oil-treated specimens (CO-S) were checked for gross and histological features and comparison was done between the two groups. Results: Significant shrinkage was noted in XY-S compared to that in CO-S. No difference was found in either of the sections when checked for cellular details and staining quality. Morphometrically, there was significant reduction in the mean cell area in XY-S compared to that in CO-S. Conclusion: Coconut oil may be substituted for the highly hazardous xylene as a clearing agent without compromising the quality of histological details

BCL-X expression in oral cancer: Comparison between oral squamous cell carcinoma and verrucous carcinoma

Background: Verrucous carcinoma (VC) should be considered a distinct clinicopathologic entity different from the more common oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) because of its unique biological behavior. Best way to understand the behavior of these carcinomas is to study them by means of molecular methods, especially in tumor progression tests and Bcl-X is an important antiapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family and is one of the newest and most useful markers to determine the aggressiveness of many carcinomas. The relationship between this Bcl-X protein and carcinomatous behavior toward it is not studied extensively, which we attempted to evaluate using immunohistochemical analysis in selected carcinomas of the head and neck region. Method: We studied Bcl-X protein expression in sections of thirty OSCC and ten VC samples and correlated this with tumor differentiation. Results: There was a significant difference in cytoplasmic staining of Bcl-X expression with statistical analysis (P < 0.005) for VC and OSCC when compared as a group. No significance was seen among the different histological grades of OSCC and when compared with VC individually. Conclusion: The significant result between OSCC and VC suggests that their biologic course is comparable and can be helpful in differentiating them with each other for establishment of a better treatment protocol

Glandular odontogenic cyst mimicking central mucoepidermoid carcinoma

Glandular odontogenic cyst (GOC) is a rare developmental cyst of the jaws. The most common site of occurrence is the anterior mandible, and it is most commonly seen in middle-aged people. It is a destructive lesion with a high rate of recurrence. A predilection for men is observed. Clinical and radiographic findings are not specific, and it can mimic as any other destructive lesion of the jaw. The histopathological features of GOC and those of low-grade central mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) are similar. Often, they are misdiagnosed as MEC. We present a case of GOC in the posterior maxilla, which is a rare site. The similarities and differences between GOC and central MEC are also discussed

Evaluation of mechanical properties of recasted dental base metal alloys for considering their reusability in dentistry and engineering field

Background: Base metal casting alloys are extensively used in dentistry to fabricate many oral appliances and a huge amount is wasted in the form of sprues and buttons during the casting procedure. Recycling and reusing these alloys by clean technologies may save our natural resources from being depleted and as well reduce the cost of the treatment of the patients. Objectives: To study the mechanical properties of recasted dental base metal alloys, and explore possible ways to recycle and reuse in dentistry and other fields of science and technology. Materials and Methods: Two beryllium-free Cobalt-Chromium (Co-Cr) dental casting alloys, Wironit and Wirobond-C, were used for this study. Six groups of specimen (melted once, twice, five, ten, fifteen and twenty times) per each alloy were casted. The tensile strength and hardness of these samples were measured by using universal testing machine and Vickers hardness number (VHN) tester. Results: Tensile strength decreased from 850 MPa to 777 MPa after 5 th recasting and to 674 MPa at the end of 20 th recasting procedure for the Wironit samples. For Wirobond-C samples, tensile strength decreased from 720 MPa to 678 MPa after 5 th recasting and further reduced to 534 MPa at the end of 20 th recasting procedure. Hardness decreased from 380VHN to 335VHN at the end of 20 th recasting for Wironit samples and 328VHN to 247VHN for Wirobond-C samples after 20 th recasting procedure. The slight decrease in their mechanical properties will not have any impact on the clinical performance for dental applications. Conclusion: There is no major degradation in the mechanical properties after recycling, and hence, the left over alloys after casting procedures can be reused in dentistry with a condition to satisfy cytotoxicity tests