Three-Dimensional Evaluation of Dental Arches in Individuals with Syndromic Craniosynostosis.

Objective: Individuals with syndromic craniosynostosis present alterations in the dental arches due to anomalies caused by the early fusion of the craniomaxillary sutures. This study aimed to compare intradental and interdental dimensions between individuals with Apert and Crouzon syndromes and nonsyndromic controls. Materials and Methods: Digital models were obtained from the archive of a public tertiary care hospital. The sample consisted of 34 patients (Apert n = 18, Crouzon n = 16) and 34 nonsyndromic controls matched for gender and age. Measurements of perimeter, length, intercanine and intermolar distances (upper and lower), overjet, and molar ratio were performed. Statistical comparisons were performed using ANOVA and Tukey tests (p < 0.05). Results: Patients with Apert and Crouzon syndromes have severely reduced maxillary transverse dimensions, perimeter, and length of the upper arch compared to the control group (p < 0.001). The lower arch is less impacted. Patients with Apert syndrome had an anterior crossbite (p < 0.001), while patients with Crouzon syndrome had an edge-to-edge bite (p < 0.011). Patients with Apert and Crouzon syndromes do not have serious transverse proportion problems when comparing the upper and lower arches. Conclusions: In this sample, both the Apert and Crouzon groups have severely compromised upper arches compared to the control group. Mild dentoalveolar expansion in the maxilla should be sufficient for the transverse adaptation of the dental arches before frontofacial advancement.

Tissue microarray use for immunohistochemical study of ameloblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Ameloblastoma is a locally aggressive odontogenic tumor with high rates of recurrence. To better understand the molecular basis of ameloblastoma, tissue microarray (TMA) may represent a useful tool. However, despite TMA has been considered a high-throughput technique for different human neoplasms, it remains to be validated in the ameloblastoma context. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate TMA for immunohistochemical study of ameloblastoma, determining its most appropriate design. METHODS: Forty cases of ameloblastoma were manually distributed in two TMA blocks assembled in triplicate containing 1.0- and 2.0-mm cores (20 cases each). Immunohistochemistry for cytokeratins 14 and 19, and Bcl-2 and Ki-67 was performed, and semiquantitative analysis was performed. Results obtained with TMA sections were compared to their corresponding conventional whole-section slides (CWSS). RESULTS: Kappa statistical test demonstrated that both 1.0- and 2.0-mm cores assessed as duplicate or triplicate significantly correlated with CWSS, with higher levels obtained using Ki67 (k = 0.98, 0.97, 0.88, 0.87) and CK19 (k = 0.62, 0.58, 0.85, 0.85). There was no significant difference between 1.0- and 2.0-mm cores, and between duplicate and triplicate values. 1.0-mm TMA showed a higher index of core loss (33.74% vs. 4.99%). CONCLUSION: Using a manual arrayer, it was demonstrated that 1.0-mm TMA arranged in duplicate is a valid method for ameloblastoma immunohistochemical study with satisfactory levels of agreement between TMA cylinders and CWSS.

p-Akt and its relationship with clinicopathological features and survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma: an immunohistochemical study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate, through immunohistochemical reaction in samples of oral squamous cell carcinoma, the correlation between the expression status of protein kinase B (p-Akt) and patient survival as well as histological grade and some clinicopathological features. METHODS: Samples were collected from 46 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The immunohistochemical expression of p-Akt was analysed, as were clinicopathological features including the use of tobacco, tumour stage, size and infiltration of metastatic lymph nodes. The association of immunostaining with histological grade was analysed in 40 patients. The associations were examined for statistical significance using a chi-square test. Overall survival rates were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using a log rank test (P > 0.05). RESULTS: The results indicated a statistically significant association with p-Akt immunostaining for the variables lymph node metastasis (P = 0.006), tumour size (P = 0.044) and survival rate (P = 0.0298). CONCLUSION: From these results, the present study suggests that high p-Akt expression found in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients may contribute to tumour growth, metastasis to regional lymph nodes and shorter survival time.

MCM3 could be a better marker than Ki-67 for evaluation of dysplastic oral lesions: an immunohistochemical study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify the expression of MCM3, Ki-67 and p27 in normal mucosa, leucoplakia and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and determine whether altered expression could serve as a prognostic marker of a malignant progression of dysplastic lesions. METHODS: The samples were collected from 37 patients with oral leucoplakia (13 with mild dysplasia - MLD, 12 with moderate dysplasia - MD and 12 with severe dysplasia - SD). Eleven samples of mouth floor mucocele (M) and 50 floor mouth and tongue samples OSCC of untreated patients were included in this study. Immunohistochemical expression of MCM3, Ki-67 and p27 of all the groups was analysed. Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's test were used to determine differences among groups, and a Pearson's correlation test was used to evaluate the correlation between the proteins. RESULTS: Ki-67 expression was higher in OSCC than M (P < 0.001) and MLD (P < 0.01) groups, and there was a lower expression in M compared with MD and SD (P < 0.05). Regarding p27, its expression was lower in OSCC compared with M, MD and SD. MCM3 expression was lower in M compared with SD and OSCC (P < 0.001), and MLD showed a lower expression when compared SD (P < 0.01) and OSCC (P < 0.001). Moreover, a better correlation was observed between the proteins MCM3 and p27 than between Ki-67 and p27 proteins when all lesions were examined together. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that MCM3 could be a better marker than Ki-67 for evaluation of dysplastic oral lesions.