Prognostic Ability of Expression of Myofibroblasts in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

AIM: To systematically review the existing scientific literature in providing a comprehensive, quantitative analysis on the prognostic ability of Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) a novel meta-analysis. METHODS: Review was performed in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and registered in PROSPERO - CRD CRD42023467899. Electronic databases were searched for studies having data on effect of CAFs on overall survival rate and disease prognosis in patients with OSCC, oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) compared to normal healthy controls. Quality assessment of included was evaluated through Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS) for included studies through its domains. The hazard ratio (HR) and risk ratio (RR) was used as summary statistic measure with random effect model and p value <0.05 as statistically significant. RESULTS: Twenty studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in qualitative synthesis and eighteen studies for meta -analysis. Included studies had moderate to low risk of bias. It was observed through the pooled estimate that overall survival rate - (HR) =2.30 (1.71 - 3.10) was lesser in group with high CAFs compared to low CAFs while pooled estimate through RR =1.53 (0.73 - 3.19) and RR = 5.72 (2.40 - 13.59) signified that overall survival rate was lower n OSCC patients with high CAF compared to patients with OED and healthy controls. Publication bias through the funnel plot showed asymmetric distribution with presence of systematic heterogeneity indicating presence of publication bias. CONCLUSION: Abundance of CAFs in tumor stroma of OSCC patients is associated with overall poor survival rate and poor disease prognosis. CAFs acts as a good prognostic and therapeutic marker in disease progression and advancements and should be assessed early to reduce patient's mortality and morbidity.

The assessment of the mechanism of action of lauric acid in the context of oral cancer through integrative approach combining network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.

OBJECTIVES: Lauric acid has been investigated for its effects on various human cancer cell types, although limited research has been dedicated to its impact on oral cancer. In light of this, the objective of our study was to comprehensively assess the anticancer properties of lauric acid specifically in the context of oral cancer. This evaluation was achieved through an in-silico approach, leveraging network analysis techniques. By employing this methodology, we aimed to gain valuable insights into the potential therapeutic benefits of lauric acid for treating oral cancer. METHODS: The in-silico analysis involved determination of drug-likeness prediction, prediction of common targets between oral cancer and LA, protein-protein interactions (PPI), hub genes, top 10 associated pathways by gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, molecular docking experiments. RESULTS: Our study pinpointed 23 common genes involved in critical cellular processes, including proliferation, apoptosis regulation, PI3K AKT cascade, and cell cycle control. Among them, CXCL8, MMP9, PPARA, MAPK1, and AR stood out in the top 10 pathways, particularly in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. This highlights the potential role of lauric acid in oral cancer treatment through the PI3K/AKT pathway and calls for further exploration of this mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights lauric acid's promising anticancer properties through computational analysis, offering a foundation for future research in cancer treatment development. This approach combines molecular insights with in-silico methods, paving the way for identifying therapeutic compounds and understanding their mechanisms. Lauric acid holds potential as a chemotherapeutic agent, opening up new avenues for cancer therapy exploration.

An intriguing case report of follicular lymphoid hyperplasia of tongue with the detailed review of literature.

Follicular lymphoid hyperplasia is a rare reactive benign lesion of the oral mucosa. This is also known as pseudolymphoma as the features mimic the malignant counterpart Follicular lymphoma. In present case, a 34 year old male patient came with a nodular swelling in the posterior-lateral left side of tongue. Medical or dental history was non contributory. Swelling was painless, well demarcated, and about peanut sized. The swelling was provisionally diagnosed as either neurilemmoma, mucocele, or traumatic fibroma. Complete excision was performed, and tissue was sent to a private laboratory. Histopathological findings seen were germinal centers having a core of monotonous cells of the same size and demarcated mantle area mimicking the lymphoma. Immunophenotyping revealed diffused positivity for kappa and lambda expressions. CD10 was diffusely positive in germinal centers and BCl 2 was positive in the mantle area while negative in germinal centers. The final diagnosis given was follicular lymphoid hyperplasia. The entity mentioned in the present paper is an unusual variant of the benign lymphoproliferative lesion and very few cases are reported in the tongue area. Thus, it is important to understand the nature of this benign lesion in all aspects to avoid diagnostic dilemmas due to its malignant mirroring characteristics.

An unusual case report of basal cell ameloblastoma and a detailed review of literature.

Ameloblastoma is an odontogenic tumour derived from the remnants of odontogenic epithelium. Ameloblastoma shows versatile clinical and histological variants. Basal cell ameloblastoma is a rare variant among all histopathological variants of ameloblastoma. We present a case of a 25-year-old male patient with painless swelling on the lower left side of the face for 1 year, which had gradually increased in size and histologically showed features of basal cell ameloblastoma. The aim of the present paper is to understand this rare variant of ameloblastoma and review the literature.

A Case Report of Rare Carcinoma Ex Pleomorphic Adenoma of Submandibular Gland and its Detailed Description.

A 65-year-old female patient reported with a chief complaint of swelling in the left lower region of the jaw since two years. On clinical examination, the swelling was present on the mandibular left posterior region and measuring approximately 6.2 cm antero-posteriorly × 6.2 cm mediolaterally × 8.7 cm superioinferiorly. Initially, it was non tender but eventually it became tender. Fine needle aspiration was done to rule out any salivary gland pathology and report obtained was carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma. Then, excisional biopsy was taken and tissue sent for histopathology. Histopathological diagnosis was benign adenoma with carcinoma. Later serial sections of tissue were studied and came to the conclusion of carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma which was non invasive type and showed bizarre cells with neoplastic changes. Benign part was composed of myxomatous area with partial capsule. Neoplastic cells showed invasion into capsule and few necrotic areas were also present. Overall interpretation was favoured Non invasive carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma. So here, we reported a case of Carcinoma ex Pleomorphic Adenoma (CAEXPA) which is a deadly and rare variant of salivary gland malignancy.