RESUMO
Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) has long been regarded as a disease entity having a remarkable incidence worldwide and a fairly onerous prognosis; thus encouraging further research on factors that might modify disease outcome. Squamous cell carcinomas encompass at least 90% of all oral malignancies. Several factors like tobacco and tobacco-related products, alcohol, genetic predisposition and hormonal factors are suspected as possible causative factors. Human papilloma virus (HPV), the causal agent of cervical cancer also appears to be involved in the aetiology of oral and oropharyngeal cancer. HPVpositive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) seems to differ from HPV-negative SCC. Many questions about the natural history of oral HPV infection remain under investigation. The aim of this review is to highlight the current understanding of HPV-associated oral cancer with an emphasis on its prognosis, detection and management.
Assuntos
Alphapapillomavirus/fisiologia , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas/virologia , Neoplasias Bucais/virologia , Infecções por Papillomavirus/virologia , Alphapapillomavirus/isolamento & purificação , Biomarcadores Tumorais/análise , Carcinogênese , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas/terapia , Humanos , Neoplasias Bucais/terapia , Infecções por Papillomavirus/diagnóstico , Infecções por Papillomavirus/terapia , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) is demonstrated to be useful in diagnostic pathology, mainly to distinguish benign lesions from their malignant counterparts. We aimed to correlate AgNORs pleomorphism with the severity of lesion in oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) using a retrospective study on 45 archival tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Silver nitrate staining was performed on archival tissues consisting of 20 OSMF and 20 OSCC. Five biopsies from normal oral mucosa acted as a control. One hundred cells per slide were observed for AgNORs dots, which were classified as typical (spherical) and atypical (large, kidney-shaped and clustered). RESULTS: A positive and significant correlation was found between increased atypical shapes and increasing grades of OSMF and OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: AgNORs pleomorphism can be a reliable criterion to assess disease severity and progression in OSMF and OSCC.
