Oral cancer report from Northeastern Hungary.

In Hungary oral and pharyngeal cancers have been reported the fourth most common malignancy in males and the sixth for both sexes. The aim of the present study was to characterize oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients in Northeastern Hungary. 119 randomly selected patients with OSCC were included in the study. Epidemiological data, clinicopathological parameters and the risk factors were registered. The most common sites of OSCC were the floor of the mouth (27.7%), the lip (26.9%) and the tongue (22.7%). The majority of the patients was diagnosed with early stage (I-II) lesions and moderately differentiated tumors. The 5-year overall survival rate was 38.7%. There was a significant correlation between survival and tumor size, lymph node involvement and clinical stage. At the time of diagnosis 65.5% of the patients were smokers. Smoking significantly correlated with younger age, male gender, advanced clinical stages and alcohol consumption. 75.5% of the patients consumed alcohol, 41.1% of them exceeding the conventional amount regularly. Drinking habit significantly correlated with younger age, male gender and tumor site i.e. gingiva, retromolar region, tongue. The dental status was acceptable only in 12.6% of the cases. There was a significant correlation between dental status and age, smoking and drinking habits. Clinical stage has the most significant impact on survival and the most important high-risk habits in Northeastern Hungary are smoking and alcohol consumption. Therefore, early detection and treatment, cessation of tobacco and alcohol abuse, and a regular dental care may improve patients' survival in the region.

The Ekman-Westborg and Julin trait: report of a case.

Macrodontia associated with multituberculism, central cusps, and pulpal invaginations is reported in a 7-year-old Hungarian girl. Over 5 years' follow-up the problems of the diagnosis, the similarity with and relationship to the Ekman-Westborg and Julin trait, and the difficulties of the treatment are discussed.

Expression of p16(INK4A), p53, and Rb proteins are independent from the presence of human papillomavirus genes in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The overexpression of p16(INK4A) and suppression of p53 and Rb proteins are key features of oncogenic transformation by human papillomaviruses (HPV) in anogenital cancers. HPV genomes are often detected in cancers of the oral cavity, but it is unclear whether HPV has a specific oncogenic role there. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to investigate the expression of p53, Rb, and p16(INK4A) proteins and identify HPV infection and viral integration into the host genome. METHODS: Seventy-nine cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) were studied by immunohistochemistry. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to identify HPV DNA from the samples. The results were correlated with clinical data. RESULTS: Thirty-three cases were HPV positive for high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) types, of which 27 harbored HPV16. In 25 of 27 HPV16-positive tumors, the HPV16 genome was fully integrated into the host genome, as evidenced by the lack of PCR-amplifiable E2 gene sequences. Forty-five patients were p53 overexpressing, 20 with HR-HPV-positive and 25 with HR-HPV-negative tumors. p16(INK4A) protein was overexpressed in 4 of 31 HR-HPV-positive and 9of 45 HR-HPV-negative cases. Twenty-six of 32 HR-HPV-positive and 37 of 44 HR-HPV-negative samples exhibited pRb nuclear staining. These differences between HR-HPV-positive and -negative tumors were not statistically significant. No correlation was found between these biological factors and tumor location, stage, differentiation grade, or alcohol or tobacco abuse. CONCLUSIONS: A tumor immunophenotype, similar to HPV-related anogenital cancers, is not present in OSCC and highly oncogenic HPV types are therefore unlikely to be specific or independent risk factors for oral cancer.

p21WAF1/CIP1 expression is a marker of poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Previous research on the prognostic relevance of p21(WAF1/CIP1) in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) yielded inconclusive and contradictory data. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prognostic significance of p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression, its relationship to p53 accumulation, proliferation-associated proteins Ki-67 and cyclin D1 in relation to survival and clinicopathological features in OSCC. METHODS: Surgical specimens taken from 106 randomly selected patients were studied by immunohistochemistry. Expression of the protein of interest was correlated with clinical data. RESULTS: p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression was found in 61.3% of OSCCs. Expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1) significantly correlated with tumor size (P = 0.005), lymph node involvement (P = 0.002), clinical stage (P < 0.001), and tumor site (P = 0.002). Patients with tumors showing p21(WAF1/CIP1) immunopositivity had decreased 2-year survival (P = 0.018). Expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1) was not related to age, gender, risk factors (tobacco, alcohol), dental status, or tumor differentiation grade. The p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression positively correlated with proliferation-related variables Ki-67 (P = 0.010) and cyclin D1 (P < 0.001), but not with p53 expression. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1) was found to be associated with poorer prognosis and tumor aggressivity in OSCC.