[Agreement evaluation of the severity of oral epithelial dysplasia in oral leukoplakia].

Objective: To evaluate the inter-observer agreement of the severity of oral epithelial dysplasia in oral leukoplakia, providing a theoretical basis for the development of a more objective grading system. Methods: This study included 60 digital pathological slides of oral leukoplakia from Oral Medicine Department of West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, and 239 tissue microarray images of oral leukoplakia from State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Sichuan University, to evaluate the agreement of grading. Besides, 1 000 patches were generated from the 60 digital pathological slides and were divided into 500 small-sized patches (224 pixel×224 pixel) and 500 large-sized patches (1 024 pixel×1 024 pixel), to evaluate the agreement of feature detection. Gradings and feature detections were completed by three pathological experts from the oral pathology departments of two Grade 3, Class A stomatological hospitals in China. Kappa coefficient was used to quantify the inter-observer agreement among pathologists. Results: Minimal agreement was found in the grading of oral epithelial dysplasia among pathologists (Kappa=0.30 in the pathological slide group, Kappa=0.30 in the tissue microarray group). None agreement was found in feature detection within the small-sized patches group (median Kappa=0.14 for architectural features, median Kappa=0.18 for cytological features), and minimal agreement was found in feature detection within the large-sized patches group (median Kappa=0.25 for architectural features, median Kappa=0.25 for cytological features). Conclusions: Generally, the agreement of grading and feature detection of oral epithelial dysplasia in oral leukoplakia is poor. Development of a more objective grading system of oral epithelial dysplasia based on artificial intelligence may be helpful to improve the agreement.

Host genetic susceptibility to oral cancer: evidence from meta-analyses and pooled analyses.

BACKGROUND: A large number of meta-analyses and pooled analyses have been published on the topic of the genetic variants for oral cancer, and many positive results have been identified; however, there might be some false-positive results. The aim of this study was to identify the 'true positive' (noteworthy) results using the method of false-positive report probability (FPRP). METHODS: The PubMed database, Embase database, CNKI database, and Wanfang database were searched to retrieve the meta-analyses, pooled analyses, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which addressed the associations between genetic polymorphisms and the risk of oral cancer. The significant associations were further analyzed using the method of FPRP. RESULTS: A total of 14 variants were identified from meta-analyses and pooled analyses, which concern the associations between oral cancer and genetic variants. Among these 14 variants, 9 variants were reported to be significantly associated with the risk of oral cancer (CYP1A1-MspI, CYP2E1-RsaI/PstI, MTHFR-C677T, p73-G4C14-to-A4T14, XRCC1-Arg194Trp, CYP1A1-Ile462Val, GSTM1-±, and NAT2 slow vs rapid). After assessing the results of FPRP, none of the nine statistically significant associations were noteworthy (true positive). In addition, no noteworthy results were identified from GWAS. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this study found no noteworthy associations between variants and the risk of oral cancer. Further candidate genes associations studies should be performed to explore the etiology of oral cancer.

[Effects of panaxadiol saponins isolated from Panax notoginseng on intracellular and extracellular calcium].

Panaxadiol saponins (PDS) contain saponins Panax notoginseng B1 and E. The spontaneous beating induced by isoproterenol in isolated rat right atria and the increase of contractile force induced by Ca2+ in isolated guinea pig colon were inhibited by PDS 75 and 150 micrograms.ml-1, respectively and perhexiline 6.25 and 12.5 mumol.L-1, respectively. It suggested that PDS could block the potential-dependent and receptor-operated calcium channel in smooth muscle. PDS 150 micrograms.ml-1 and perhexiline 6.25 mumol.L-1 depressed the contractile force induced by norepinephrine and Ca2+ in isolated rat aortic strips in Ca(2+)-free Krebs' solution. It suggested that PDS and perhexiline not only inhibited the release of intracellular Ca2+ but also blocked the inflow of extracellular Ca2+.