Clinicopathological correlation of Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression in oral precancer and cancer.

UNLABELLED: Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor of the oral cavity. Normally the death of cell and the growth are active processes and depend not only on external factors but also on the expression of genes such as Bcl-2, which activate and inhibit apoptosis. The term Bcl-2 is an acronym for B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 genes. It has been reported that there is deregulation of Bcl-2 expression during progression from oral epithelial dysplasia to squamous cell carcinoma. Expression of this oncoprotein can be detected by immunohistochemistry. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: An attempt was made to evaluate Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression in patients with oral precancer and cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A selective prospective clinical and immunohistochemical study. Clinicopathological examination was correlated with immunohistochemical findings. The immunolocalization of Bcl-2 protein was performed using the labeled streptavidin biotin method. To visualize the reaction, 3,3-diaminobenzidine was used. RESULTS: Bcl-2 expression was positive in 11 [36.66%, low Bcl-2 expression 3 (10.00%), moderate Bcl-2 expression 7 (23.33%), and high Bcl-2 expression 1 (3.33%)] oral cancer cases and 14 [87.50%, low expression 8 (50%), moderate expression 6 (37.50%)] precancer cases. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the results of our study, we conclude that positive Bcl-2 expression may be an indicator of poor prognosis in oral cancer and precancer.

Crown size and arch width dimension as an indicator in gender determination for a Puducherry population.

INTRODUCTION: Tooth morphometry is resistant to postmortem destruction and can be used as an adjunct in skeletal sex and age determination. Therefore, an attempt was made to compare mandibular canine index (MCI) and Pont's index for their level of accuracy in gender determination for a Puducherry population. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate crown size and arch width dimension for the Puducherry population using MCI and Pont's index. To compare the MCI and Pont's index, for the level of accuracy in gender determination and to validate its use as a forensic tool. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and six participants (53 males and 53 females) in the age group of 18-25 years of the Puducherry population were included in the study. Their MCI and Pont's index were recorded. RESULTS: The data obtained were subjected to paired t-test analysis. It was observed that right MCI was most accurate and molar index was least accurate in sex determination. CONCLUSION: MCI and Pont's index showed significant sexual dimorphism. They can be used as an adjunct to other tools for sex determination and identification of the person for the Puducherry population.

Accuracy of bite mark analysis from food substances: A comparative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aims and objectives of the study were to compare the accuracy of bite mark analysis from three different food substances-apple, cheese and chocolate using two techniques-the manual docking procedure and computer assisted overlay generation technique and to compare the accuracy of the two techniques for bite mark analysis on food substances. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The individuals who participated in the study were made to bite on three food substances-apple, cheese, and chocolate. Dentate individuals were included in the study. Edentulous individuals and individuals having a missing anterior tooth were excluded from the study. The dental casts of the individual were applied to the positive cast of the bitten food substance to determine docking or matching. Then, computer generated overlays were compared with bite mark pattern on the foodstuff. RESULTS: The results were tabulated and the comparison of bite mark analysis on the three different food substances was analyzed by Kruskall-Wallis ANOVA test and the comparison of the two techniques was analyzed by Spearman's Rho correlation coefficient. CONCLUSION: On comparing the bite marks analysis from the three food substances-apple, cheese and chocolate, the accuracy was found to be greater for chocolate and cheese than apple.

Nodal vascularity as an indicator of cervicofacial metastasis in oral cancer: A Doppler sonographic study.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to assess nodal vascularity by Doppler sonography and to find out the correlation between clinical and various Doppler sonographic features for the detection of the metastatic nodes in oral cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total number of 55 patients of histopathologically proven oral cancer presenting with enlarged superficial cervicofacial lymph nodes were included in the study. Patients were subjected to clinical examination according to a specially designed proforma and the TNM staging was done. If more than one enlarged nodes were present, then the node with the largest diameter was chosen for further Doppler ultrasonographic examination followed by fine needle aspiration cytology test of the same node. RESULTS: Correlations of patterns of color Doppler flow signals with cytological diagnosis showed that central type of vascular pattern was statistically significant parameter for benign lymph nodes and peripheral type of vascularity was highly significant parameter for malignant lymphadenopathy. It was found that the cut-off value of resistive index 0.6 was statistically significant in the assessment of metastatic node (P < 0.01) with a sensitivity of 45.5% and specificity of 93.9%. On comparison of the clinical features (TNM staging) with Doppler sonographic features, it was found that the characteristic features suggestive of malignant lymph nodes on Doppler sonography such as peripheral blood flow and high resistive index were more consistently and frequently associated with the higher sub-stages of T3 and T4 and N2b and N2c of TNM staging system. CONCLUSION: Nodal vascularity may be used to differentiate benign from malignant lymphadenopathy. Proper judicious use of non-invasive color Doppler ultrasonographic examination provides an opportunity to eliminate the need for biopsy in reactive nodes and provide treatment in a more precise manner.

Oral Myiasis Caused by Chrysomya bezziana in Anterior Maxilla.

Oral myiasis is a rare pathology and is associated with poor oral hygiene, alcoholism, senility, suppurating lesions, and severe halitosis. It arises from invasion of body tissues or cavities of living animals by maggots or larvae of certain dipterian flies. It is mostly reported in developing countries and in the tropics. We hereby report a rare case of oral myiasis in a 70-year-old female with extensive necrotic oral lesion burrowing into the hard palate through which numerous live maggots (larvae) and seen emerging out and discuss the definition, etiology, predisposing factors, classification, and management of the same. Furthermore, the life cycle of the causative organism in the present case, that is, Chrysomya bezziana, has also been discussed.

Ellis-van Creveld Syndrome: A Case Report.

Ellis-van Creveld syndrome also known as chondroectodermal dysplasia or mesoectodermal dysplasia; a rare genetic disorder of the skeletal dysplasia. 'Six-fingered dwarfism' (digital integer deficiency) was an alternative designation used for this condition when it was being studied in the Amish. It is characterized by short-limb dwarfism, polydactyly, malformation of the bones of the wrist, dystrophy of the fingernails, partial hare-lip, cardiac malformation and often prenatal eruption of the teeth. A typical case of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome is reported in the present article. How to cite this article: Singh S, Arya V, Daniel MJ, Vasudevan V. Ellis-van Creveld Syndrome: A Case Report . Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2012;5(1):72-74.