Expression of Yes-associated Protein in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

AIM: Though the exact mechanism of yes-associated protein (YAP) in tumorigenesis is not well understood, studies have shown that YAP plays an imperative role in cancer advancement via the Hippo signaling pathway. The purpose of the present study was to appraise the clinicopathological correlation of YAP expression in various grades and stages along with different parameters like tumor size and nodal metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-seven surgically excised specimens from patients with OSCC were selected for the study. Grading of the OSCC specimens was done according to Broder's grading system and staging had been done using tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) system by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). Comparative analysis of YAP expression and various aforementioned parameters of OSCC was performed and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Differences in the expression of YAP was observed among well differentiated and moderately differentiated OSCC, with increased YAP expression with successive grades but was statistically insignificant. On evaluating YAP expression among various stages of OSCC, we observed that stages I, II, and IV demonstrated a weak expression of YAP, while stage III showed a strong expression but the differences were insignificant. Insignificant differences were also noted in YAP expression between different tumor sizes, while significant differences were observed between different nodal statuses. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that YAP could be responsible for extensive proliferation and invasiveness of OSCC.

Alveolar soft-part sarcoma of the oral cavity: A review of literature.

An alveolar soft-part sarcoma is a malignant neoplasm primarily affecting the soft tissues of head and neck. The aim of the present review is to systematically present the demographic and clinico-pathological data of articles published in the English medical literature. A comprehensive search of the databases (PubMed, Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) along with cross references to the published articles on alveolar soft-part sarcoma for eligible studies/case reports published since 1957 till date was done to retrieve the data. A total of 74 cases were identified and analyzed from 42 papers published in the English medical literature. All the clinical, radiographic, and prognostic features were analyzed and presented along with the treatment strategies. Alveolar soft-part sarcoma is a rare and aggressive malignancy of uncertain histologic origin with a propensity for vascular invasion and distant metastasis. This neoplasm requires careful clinical, radiographic, and histopathologic evaluation to reach to the correct diagnosis.

Role of forensic odontology in the identification of victims of major mass disasters across the world: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Forensic odontology (FO) is regarded in the literature as one of the most reliable and economical scientific methods for victim identification in mass disasters (MDs). The present paper systematically reviews the role of forensic odontologists in various global MDs. METHOD: A comprehensive search of the literature databases (PubMed, Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar), along with cross-referencing published peer-reviewed articles, was conducted. The search included full texts, abstracts or titles, had no inclusion year limit (searched until September 2017) and was limited to the English language. Keywords included a combination of 'Forensic odontology', 'Dental records', 'Victim identification', 'Natural mass disaster', 'Criminal mass disaster', 'Accidental mass disaster' and 'Victim disaster'. RESULTS: Of the included disasters (20), 12 (57.14%) were accidental, 5 (23.80%) natural and 3 (19.04%) were criminal. The maximum number of victims was associated with the Japan tsunami (15892), followed by the Thailand tsunami (4280) and the Estonia ferry disaster (852). A total of 23654 victims were reported, of which 20569 (86.96%) were positively identified. Reports from 17 MDs included the use of FO in victim identification [3025 (14.70%) cases]. In addition, 1094 victims (5.31%; from 7 papers) were identified using FO in combination with other methodologies. The highest percentage of victims was identified using FO following the Kentucky air crash (47; 100%), followed by the Newark air crash (38; 76%), the Nepal air crash (10; 71.42%), the France air crash (56; 65.88%), the Australian bushfire (14; 63.63%), and the Estonia ferry disaster (57; 60.63%). CONCLUSION: FO has played a significant role in victim identification in several MDs around the world. The success of FO-based identification is heavily dependent on the availability of ante-mortem records from general dental practitioners. Hence, adequate knowledge about FO and appropriate dental record keeping among general dental practitioners are critical.