Oral Cancer in Young vs Old Individuals: A Systematic Review.

AIM: To compare various parameters associated with oral cancer in young and old patients and systematically compile the data on prognosis or outcome of oral cancer in young and old patients that include case series, matched-pair analyses, institutional series, and database reviews. BACKGROUND: Though oral cancer is considered a disease of old age, a recent clinical scenario witnesses its increasing incidence among young persons. When compared to old patients, young patients with oral cancer are exposed to the carcinogens for a very petite period of time suggesting underlying pathogenesis to be distinct from that in older individuals. Literature reports several studies about the occurrence of oral cancer in young patients; however, no unanimous opinion exists about its prognosis and treatment outcomes when compared to older patients. Keeping this in mind, we have extensively studied all the possible aspects (location, local and regional recurrence, nodal and distant metastasis, overall survival, etc.) from the English literature and systematically compiled the available data on prognosis or outcomes of oral cancer. REVIEW RESULTS: The overall outcome of the case series shows poorer prognosis in young patients, matched-pair analyses, and institutional series suggesting no significant differences whereas the databases favored a better prognosis in young patients. The mean overall survival rate was found to be better for young patients in the database and institutional review whereas worse in the matched-pair analyses. The mean 5-year survival rate was found to be more in young individuals in matched-pair analyses, database reviews, and institutional series as compared to older oral cancer patients. CONCLUSION: Though data extracted from various study designs are heterogeneous, the present review gives a scoping view of the papers published on oral cancer in young vs old patients. More prospective studies are suggested with a larger sample size in the future. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The present review will help to better understand the nature, course, and biologic behavior of oral cancer in young patients leading to the development of specific treatment strategies to manage the patients based on their age-groups.

Tumor associated tissue eosinophilia in oral squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) still lacks the valid prognosticator for survival. Tumor associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) have been widely investigated in the literature but still there is no consensus viewpoint on its role as prognostic marker. With this view in mind, a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that evaluated the overall risk of elevated TATE and survival in OSCC was conducted. METHODOLOGY: A systematic literature search conducted to identify studies that have evaluated TATE in OSCC. Overall survival (OS), Disease Free Survival (DFS) Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval) was extracted. HR was extrapolated if direct HR was not given in publication. Studies were pooled and combined hazard ratios (HRs) of High TATE for OS and DFS were calculated. RESULTS: 6 out of 874 articles were found eligible for systematic review and meta-analysis. High TATE was predictor of OS (pooled HR 0.45 (95% CI, 030-0.65, P â€‹< â€‹0.0001)) and DFS (pooled HR 2.33 (95% CI, 0.74-7.37)) in OSCC patients. CONCLUSION: High TATE positively predicts OS and DFS in OSCC and thus can be regarded as an important survival prognosticator. Standardization of counting and reporting methodology for TATE count is recommended on future cohort studies.

Gold Nanoparticles: A Novel Approach in Early Detection of Oral Cancers.

HowOral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) holds a place among the 10 most common cancers in the world with a reported increase in its incidence every year, particularly in western and Asian countries.1 Of the reported cases, majority of oral cancers are preceded by precancerous lesions.2 Expeditious and untimely detection of oral cancer is paramount for improving the survival rate of this disease as any delay in its diagnosis is accompanied with poor prognosis despite advanced treatment approaches.

Citation Classics in Cone Beam Computed Tomography: The 100 Top-Cited Articles.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize the 100 most cited articles on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive list of citation classics in CBCT was generated by searching the Scopus database without year or language restrictions. The top 100 articles were retrieved after reading abstracts or full texts. The following study variables were evaluated: number of citations, citation density, journal name, impact factor, category and quartile of journals, publication year, authors with their affiliations, article type, and topics covered. RESULTS: The citation number ranged from 86 to 624, with a mean of 161.9 citations per article. The top 100 articles were distributed in 29 journals, and the journal with the most articles was Dentomaxillofacial Radiology (n=16). The articles were published between 1998 and 2012, and eight authors published more than 3 papers. The USA produced the most papers (n=38), followed by the UK (n=12). King's college London Dental Institute led the list of classics, with 8 articles. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first citation analysis to provide a detailed list of the most influential articles on CBCT and helps to recognize the quality of the works, discoveries, and trends steering the field.

Is the Pen really Mightier than the Scalpel?

One of the most crucial aspects of cancer diagnosis and treatment is to determine the thin boundary between lesional and normal tissues. So it is important to assess an accurate negative margin and to completely excise the tumor for a prolonged disease-free state and increase the overall survival of the patient.