Thermal damage and excision time of micro and super pulsed diode lasers: A comparative ex vivo analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of this ex vivo study was to evaluate thermal damage and cutting efficiency of micro and super pulsed diode lasers. The secondary aim was to suggest a guideline to perform simple surgical excisions adequate for histopathological evaluation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten groups of 10 specimens of pig tongues were excised using a blade (G1), a micro pulsed (G2-G9), and a super pulsed diode (G10) lasers. Different output power, pulse duration, pulse interval, and duty cycle were tested. Quantitative measures of thermal damage and excision times were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed at a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: The control group (G1) presented no thermal damage. Within the laser groups (G2-G10), no statistically significant differences in depth of thermal damage (µm) were noted. G3 showed significantly less area of thermal damage (mm2 ) when compared with G7 and G9 (p < .05). The median excision time of the control group and super pulsed diode laser group were significantly lower (p < .001) than the micro pulsed diode laser groups. CONCLUSIONS: The cutting efficiency of the super pulsed diode laser is comparable to traditional blade, and with appropriate parameters, these lasers can produce predictable surgical outcomes with less collateral damage.

BRAF V600E mutation-specific immunohistochemical analysis in ameloblastomas: a 44-patient cohort study from a single institution.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate the presence and prevalence of BRAF V600E mutation in ameloblastomas using anti-BRAF V600E monoclonal antibody (VE1 clone) and to identify any clinicopathologic correlation with BRAF V600E mutation in ameloblastoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pathology files of the Department of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Lagos, Nigeria, were searched for the diagnosis of ameloblastoma from 2016 to 2020. Archived non-decalcified formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue underwent immunohistochemistry using anti-BRAF V600E antibody at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Clinicopathologic data such as age at diagnosis, gender, jaw bone involved (mandible or maxilla), tumor location (anterior or posterior) and histologic subtype were collected. The clinicopathologic parameters were analyzed using Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test according to the BRAF status. RESULTS: Forty-four cases of ameloblastoma were retrieved. The male to female ratio was 1.32:1. The average age of patients at diagnosis was 33.3 years. Thirty-nine cases were located in the mandible and 5 cases in the maxilla. Only cases in the mandible were positive for anti-BRAF V600E antibody (n = 15/39; 38.5%). There was a significant correlation between BRAF V600E expression in mandibular tumors and histologic subtype (p = 0.02); however, no significance was observed for gender, age and tumor location. CONCLUSION: BRAF V600E mutation preferentially occurs in mandibular ameloblastomas, especially in non-plexiform ameloblastomas. These patients may benefit therapeutically from the use of BRAF inhibitors.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma to the oral cavity as first sign of disease: A case report.

Renal cell carcinoma metastasis to the oral cavity is rare. Significantly, the oral lesion in this case was the first indication of a malignant disease in the patient. This case underscores the importance of detailed history taking, interpretation of clinical finding, and high index of suspicion for metastatic disease to the oral cavity.

Periodontal Disease and Incident Cancer Risk among Postmenopausal Women: Results from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Cohort.

Background: Periodontal pathogens have been isolated from precancerous and cancerous lesions and also shown to promote a procarcinogenic microenvironment. Few studies have examined periodontal disease as a risk factor for total cancer, and none have focused on older women. We examined whether periodontal disease is associated with incident cancer among postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.Methods: Our prospective cohort study comprised 65,869 women, ages 54 to 86 years. Periodontal disease information was obtained via self-report questionnaires administered between 1999 and 2003, whereas ascertainment of cancer outcomes occurred through September 2013, with a maximum follow-up period of 15 years. Physician-adjudicated incident total cancers were the main outcomes and site-specific cancers were secondary outcomes. HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression. All analyses were conducted two-sided.Results: During a mean follow-up of 8.32 years, 7,149 cancers were identified. Periodontal disease history was associated with increased total cancer risk (multivariable-adjusted HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.08-1.20); findings were similar in analyses limited to 34,097 never-smokers (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.22). Associations were observed for breast (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.23), lung (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.14-1.51), esophagus (HR, 3.28; 95% CI, 1.64-6.53), gallbladder (HR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.01-2.95), and melanoma skin (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.02-1.48) cancers. Stomach cancer was borderline (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 0.94-2.67).Conclusions: Periodontal disease increases risk of total cancer among older women, irrespective of smoking, and certain anatomic sites appear to be vulnerable. Impact: Our findings support the need for further understanding of the effect of periodontal disease on cancer outcomes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(8); 1255-65. ©2017 AACR.

Emerging paradigm of virtual-microscopy for histopathology diagnosis: survey of US and Canadian oral pathology trainees.

OBJECTIVES/AIMS: The application of virtual microscopy (VM) to research, pre-doctoral medical and dental educational training, and diagnostic surgical and anatomic pathology is well-documented but its application to the field of oral and maxillofacial pathology has not been explored. This is the first study to evaluate the enthusiasm and readiness of US-/Canada-based oral and maxillofacial pathology (OMFP) residents toward employing VM use over conventional microscopy (CM) for diagnostic purposes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All 46 current US-/Canada-based OMFP residents were invited to participate in an anonymous electronic survey via 'Survey Monkey' in 2015. The survey comprised sixteen multiple choice questions and two 'free text' questions. RESULTS: 14% of respondents of the 22 (48%) respondents who completed the survey indicated a willingness to substitute CM with VM in <5 years, and 33% within 10 years. 52% reported they would never substitute CM with VM. Approximately 10 and 57% of respondents thought VM will become an acceptable sole diagnostic tool in most centers within 5 and 10 years, respectively. These findings are irrespective of the fact that overall, 90% of respondents reported being familiar with VM use. DISCUSSION: VM technology is unlikely to substitute CM in diagnostic oral and maxillofacial histopathology practice among future OMFP practitioners in the foreseeable future.