The significance of epidermal growth factor receptor uncommon mutations in non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and critical appraisal.

Uncommon epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations collectively account for 10% of EGFR mutations, harboring heterogeneous molecular alterations within exons 18-21 with clinically variable responses to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients. In addition, with the introduction of different NGS gene approach an improvement of EGFR mutations detection was reported. Today, no specific studies have prospectively evaluated uncommon sensitizing mutations in detail and no firm standard of care has been established in the first-line setting. The aim of this comprehensive review is to critically consider the clinical role of uncommon EGFR mutations highlighting the results of several in vitro and in vivo studies, which singly evaluated the sensitivity of uncommon mutations to currently European of Medicines Agency (EMA)-approved EGFR TKIs in cell lines, xenograft models and humans, in order to obtain a practical guide for refining the clinical decision-making process.

Management of primary odontogenic myxoma.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective study describes our experience in the management of odontogenic myxoma. METHODS: Thirty-four patients (23 female and 11 male) with single lesions were treated. Thirty-three patients were adults (mean age 33.5 years) and one child (age 6 years). Male:female ratio was 1:2. Different surgical procedures were used to treat the tumors. 11 lesions were treated by marginal osteotomy, 12 lesions by enucleation and curettage, 11 lesions by radical treatment (segmental or block resection). The follow-up period was 5-years. RESULTS: The success rate was 73.5%. The Kaplan-Meier method was applied to examine the outcome of the treatment. Analysis showed a significant difference between 3 types of treatment (P=0.041). The median overall of complete healing was 51.34 months (95% CI: 43.12-59.55; SD 4.19). In details, the median overall of healing was 34.91 months (95% CI: 20.66-49.17; SD 7.27) in patients of group A; 56.36 months (95% CI: 42.47-68.52; SD 3.46) in patients of group B and 47.27 months (95% CI: 49.56-63.15; SD 3.46) in patients of group C. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that enucleation and curettage offer minimal benefit, and their use must be discouraged.

Prevalence and distribution of oral mucosal non-malignant lesions in the western Sicilian population.

BACKGROUNG: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal non-malignant lesions in the Sicilian population. In addition, we evaluated the association between each oral lesion and its risk factors. METHODS: This study analyzed a total of 2539 consecutive patients, attending the Department of Surgical, Oncological and Stomatological Disciplines of Palermo University, who were examined for the presence of various oral lesions during the period from January 2012 and February 2015. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 1330 (52%) female and 1209 (48%) male. The age ranged from 13-86 years with a mean age of 47.16 years. Among these subjects 1495 (58%), presented one or more lesions. All subjects were Caucasian. The most common lesion diagnosed was coated/hairy tongue affecting 16.7% of the subjects, followed by: lingual varices (16.3%), secondary herpes lesions (8.1%), aphthous ulcers (7.9%), fordyce granules (7.2%), frictional keratosis (5%), candidosis (4.9%), fibroepithelial hyperplasia (4.6%), squamous papilloma (3.8%), traumatic ulcers (3.7%), leukoplakia (3.2%), fissured tongue (3.2%), hemangiomas (2.7%), morsicatio buccarum (2.5%), melanin pigmentation (2.5%), lichen planus (2.5%), leukoedema (2.1%), petechiae (1.1%), geographic tongue (1%), actinic cheilitis (0.8%), and erythroplakia (0.1%). Overall, the prevalence of oral mucosal non-malignant lesions was linked to age, gender, diseases, and risk habits. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence necessitates adequate awareness of these lesions in the general population. The dental clinicians should also be knowledgeable about the etiopathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of these lesions.

Traditional endodontic surgery versus modern technique: a 5-year controlled clinical trial.

In this study, we compared outcomes of traditional apicoectomy versus modern apicoectomy, by means of a controlled clinical trial with a 5-year follow-up. The study investigated 938 teeth in 843 patients. On the basis of the procedure performed, the teeth were grouped in 3 groups. Differences between the groups were the method of osteotomy (type of instruments used), type of preparation of retrograde cavity (different apicoectomy angles and instruments used for root-end preparation), and root-end filling material used (gray mineral trioxide aggregate or silver amalgam). Outcome (tooth healing) was estimated after 1 and 5 years, postoperatively. Clinical success rates after 1 year were 67% (306 teeth), 90% (186 teeth), and 94% (256 teeth) according to traditional apicoectomy (group 1), modern microsurgical apicoectomy using burns for osteotomy (group 2) or using piezo-osteotomy (group 3), respectively. After 1 year, group comparison results were statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Linear trend test was also statistically significant (P < 0.0001), pointing out larger healing from group 1 to group 3. After 5 years, teeth were classified into 2 groups on the basis of root-end filling material used. Clinical success was 90.8% (197 teeth) in the silver amalgam group versus 96% (309 teeth) in the mineral trioxide aggregate group (P < 0.00214). Multiple logistic regression analysis found that surgical technique was independently associated to tooth healing. In conclusion, modern apicoectomy resulted in a probability of success more than 5 times higher (odds ratio, 5.20 [95% confidence interval, 3.94-6.92]; P < 0.001) compared with the traditional technique.

Expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in odontogenic myxoma in a child: report of a clinical case.

BACKGROUND: Odontogenic myxoma (OM) is a benign, locally invasive, non-metastasizing neoplasm of the jaw bones. Despite the benign nature of these lesions, there is a high rate of recurrence and the current recommended therapy, depending on the size and behaviour of the lesion, can vary from curettage with peripheral ostectomy, segmental resection up to radical resections for more aggressive lesions. OM is a rare tumour which occurs predominantly in the third decade of life and it is rare in children. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of extracellular endopeptidases responsible for the degradation and remodelling of extracellular matrix, they are known to be involved in the progression and invasiveness of many types of tumour. MMPs have been studied in OM because of their well-known role in extracellular matrix degradation, tumour invasion and recurrence. CLINICAL CASE REPORT: We report a case of OM in a 6-year-old boy. A conservative excision was accomplished. The mass was excised without affecting the mandibular bone and the inferior alveolar nerve. Curettage and removal of the first right inferior molar were performed. After 6-month follow-up, no evidence of recurrence was found. EXPERIMENTAL DATA: We investigated the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in this case of OM in a child. RT-PCR showed the expression of both MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNAs. Immunohistochemistry showed a weak MMP-2 protein expression while MMP-9 protein was not detected. CONCLUSION: In this case of OM in a child, we report lack of recurrence after excision associated with low MMP-2 protein expression and absence of MMP-9. We believe it is worthy to deeply investigate the relationship between MMPs expression and OM behaviour with the aim to use MMPs as prognostic and/or therapeutic markers in OM.

Juvenile central ossifying fibroma of the mandible: a case report.

Central ossifying fibroma is a rare fibro-osseous neoplasm in young children. It is highly aggressive and has a strong tendency to recur. We describe an 11-year-old girl with juvenile central ossifying fibromas of the mandible that caused obstruction of tooth eruption of the lower left second premolar. Oral examination revealed the presence of the primary lower left second molar and a small bony hard swelling over the left side of the mandibular body. After a computed tomographic scan, an incisional biopsy was performed, and the lesion proved to be a juvenile ossifying fibroma. Although this tumor often recurs early, and many authors suggest radical en bloc resection, we performed a more conservative procedure to avoid damage to the mandibular nerve. There has been no evidence of recurrence 1 year later.

Expression of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in normal and pathological human oral mucosa.

Cyclooxigenase (COX) is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to prostaglandins (PGs). Two isoforms of COX have been identified: COX-1 is constitutively expressed in many cells and is involved in cell homeostasis, angiogenesis and cell-cell signalling; COX-2 is not expressed in normal condition however it is strongly expressed in inflammation. The oral cavity is constantly exposed to physical and chemical trauma that could lead to mucosal reactions such as hyperplasia, dysplasia and cancer. Early diagnosis is the most important issue to address for a positive outcome of oral cancer; therefore it would be useful to identify molecular markers whose expression is associated with the various stages of oral cancer progression. Since COX enzyme has been involved, with different mechanisms, in the development and progression of malignancies we decided to investigate the expression and localization of COX-1 and COX-2 in normal human oral mucosa and three different pathologies (hyperplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma) by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. COX-1 mRNA and protein have been detected already in normal oral mucosa and their expression progressively increases from normal samples towards hyperplasia, dysplasia and finally carcinoma. On the contrary, COX-2 is not expressed in the normal tissue, starts to be expressed in hyperplasia, reaches the maximum activation in dysplasia and then starts to be downregulated in carcinoma.

Prevalence and distribution of odontogenic cysts in Sicily: 1986-2005.

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of odontogenic cysts (OCs) in Sicily and evaluate their distribution during a 20-year period. A cross-sectional retrospective study was carried out in 1,310 cysts of the jaw diagnosed in 12,197 individuals, who consecutively attended the Odontostomatologic Clinic of Palermo from 1986 to 2005. 1,273 cysts were classified as odontogenic, whereas only 37 were non-odontogenic. In the former group, the most frequent lesions were radicular cysts (84.5%), followed by dentigerous OCs (11.4%). Inflammatory radicular cysts were observed more in male gender, younger age at diagnosis and anterior maxilla as site of presentation. Unlike dentigerous cysts, the frequency of radicular cysts decreased from 10.4% in 1986-1995 to about 8% in 1996-2005 (P < 0.0001). Inflammatory radicular cysts are the most represented group among OCs in our area with a higher prevalence than that reported in other countries. The decreasing epidemiologic trend with time could be attributed to the possible changes in individual oral health behavior.

Hemangiopericytoma of the oral cavity after a ten-year follow-up.

Hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a mesenchymal tumour that may be benign, malignant, or occur in an intermediate form. We report an unusual case of hemangiopericytoma located in the buccal mucosal region. The histopathologic features showed increased cellularity, necrosis, hemorrhage, low proliferation index, and 4 or less mitotic figures per 10 high-power fields. Since this histological pattern suggests an intermediate form characterized by unpredictable clinical behavior, life-long follow-up is essential. In this patient no recurrences or distant metastases were evident at 10-yr follow-up.