ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to test the performance of a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for Candida mannan antigen for detecting Candida in oral rinse solutions. STUDY DESIGN: Forty-eight oral rinse solutions (38 from patients and 10 from healthy volunteers) were available. Mannan antigen was measured using a commercial sandwich ELISA kit, Unimedi Candida. The result of the mannan assay was compared with the result of conventional detection and identification by culture. RESULTS: The result of the mannan assay revealed that 31 of 38 clinical and 3 of 10 healthy volunteer samples were positive for Candida. Using the culture as a gold standard, the overall sensitivity and specificity of the mannan antigen detection were 90.9% and 46.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggested that mannan antigen detection might be a possible and sensitive technique for the detection of oral Candida. The conditions of the ELISA-based assay should be optimized for oral rinse solutions.
Subject(s)
Candida/isolation & purification , Candidiasis, Oral/diagnosis , Mannans/immunology , Reagent Kits, Diagnostic , Saliva/immunology , Adult , Aged , Antibodies, Fungal , Candida/immunology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Humans , Male , Mouthwashes , Mycological Typing Techniques , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
The factors that predict contralateral (C-) lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with unilateral oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were analyzed. One hundred and twenty-nine patients who had untreated SCC that originated from the lateral oral cavity, but not around the midline, were included. The impact of multiple clinicopathologic factors (sex, performance status, primary site, T-stage, number and level of ipsilateral LNM, growth type, histopathological grading, mode of invasion, extension across the midline, and systemic neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy) on time-to-C-LNM was assessed using the stepwise Cox proportional hazards model. The T-stage, number of ipsilateral LNM, and histopathological grading were independent and significant predictors for C-LNM. No C-LNM occurred in patients without ipsilateral LNM and in those with earlier cancers (T1 to T3) excepting tongue cancer. The results of this retrospective study suggested that patients with advanced tumors, multi-involvement of the ipsilateral neck nodes, or a higher degree of histopathological grading were at a higher risk for C-LNM.
