Gingival metastasis from ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma as an initial manifestation (a rare case report).

The metastasis of malignant tumors to the oral cavity remains a rare clinical entity. Most metastatic tumors have the propensity for involving the mandible rather than the oral soft tissues. Herein, we describe an unusual case of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma that metastasized to the mandibular gingiva as an initial manifestation. There is little information regarding metastatic ovarian cancer to the oral cavity. A patient was a 54-year-old woman who developed the paresthesia and swelling of the right mandible after tooth extraction. A pantomograph revealed an osteolytic lesion in the right mandible. A biopsy taken from the gingiva showed mucinous adenocarcinoma, indicating the gingival metastasis of undiscovered primary cancer. A positron emission tomography and computed tomography using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose depicted an ovarian tumor with multiple pelvic and paraaortic lymph node swellings. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) clearly demonstrated the presence of an ovarian cancer. Based on the imaging studies, the diagnosis of the gingival metastasis of an ovarian cancer was suspected. Serum CEA levels were elevated at 125.6 ng/ml (normal range, 0 - 5 ng/ml). She underwent the right segmental mandiblectomy with functional neck dissection and left salpingo-oophorectomy. The histology of surgical specimen confirmed the gingival metastasis of ovarian mucinous adenocarcinoma. Neoplastic cells in the gingiva infiltrated to the mandibular bone. She has been treated with adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of paclitaxel and carboplatin. This case emphasizes that although rare, metastatic ovarian cancer to the gingiva should be included in the differential diagnosis of tumors in the oral cavity.

Vascular endothelial growth factor +936 C/T polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of endometriosis in a Japanese population.

BACKGROUND: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentration in endometriosis patients is higher than controls, in serum and ascites, suggesting that VEGF may play an important role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. In this study, we investigated whether polymorphisms in the VEGF gene are associated with endometriosis in a Japanese population. METHODS: Genotyping of VEGF -460 C/T, +405 G/C and +936 C/T polymorphisms were performed in 147 endometriosis cases diagnosed by laparotomy or laparoscopy at a university hospital, and 181 controls, by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. We compared the genotype distribution and allele frequency of these 3 polymorphisms between endometriosis patients and controls. RESULTS: No significant differences in the frequency and genotype distribution of VEGF -460 C/T, +405 G/C and +936 C/T polymorphisms were found between the endometriosis patients (all disease stages) and controls. However, a positive association was found between stage III-IV disease and the VEGF +936 T allele (p=0.018). CONCLUSIONS: The VEGF +936 T allele is associated with an increased risk of stage III-IV endometriosis in a Japanese population.

Association study between epidermal growth factor receptor and epidermal growth factor polymorphisms and endometriosis in a Japanese population.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated a possible association between endometriosis and polymorphisms in the genes encoding epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) and EGF in a Japanese population. METHODS: We compared the distribution of the Egfr+2073 A/T and Egf+61 G/A polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 146 affected women and 181 controls. RESULTS: No significant differences in the frequency and genotype distribution of the Egfr+2073 A/T and Egf+61 G/A polymorphisms were found between endometriosis patients with all disease stages and controls. Stratification by disease stage had no effect on the results. CONCLUSION: The Egfr+2073 A/T and Egf+61 G/A polymorphisms are not associated with an increased risk of endometriosis in a Japanese population.

Epidermal growth factor receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 gene polymorphisms in endometrial cancer in a Japanese population.

Endometrial cancer is associated with both EGFR and HER2 receptor activation. The EGFR and HER2 genes could be disease susceptibility candidate genes for this cancer. This study was conducted to investigate a possible association between EGFR and HER2 gene polymorphisms and endometrial cancer and the influence of these polymorphisms on the clinical outcome of endometrial cancer patients in a Japanese population. The authors compare the genotype distributions and allele frequencies of the EGFR +2073 A/T and HER2 +655 A/G polymorphisms in 116 endometrial cancer patients and 213 controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. RFLP results were confirmed by direct DNA sequencing. Of the 116 patients, 76 (65.5%) could be followed up. Disease-free survival estimates were computed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between survival periods were assessed using the log-rank test. No significant differences were observed in either genotype distributions or allele frequencies in the EGFR +2073 A/T and HER2 +655 A/G polymorphisms between endometrial cancer patients and controls. The stratification by histological types and staging failed to identify significant differences between endometrial cancer patients and controls. No statistical differences were noted between these polymorphisms and disease-free survival (Kaplan-Meier log-rank test P = .55 and .66, for the EGFR +2073 A/T and HER2 +655 A/G, respectively). These results suggest that the EGFR +2073 A/T and HER2 +655 A/G polymorphisms are not associated with endometrial cancer in a Japanese population. These conclusions are based on relatively small numbers and will require verification from additional independent studies.

Matrix metalloproteinase-1 and -9 promoter polymorphisms are not associated with an increased risk of uterine leiomyomas in a Japanese population.

OBJECTIVE: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in modeling and remodeling the extracellular matrix in leiomyomas. Hence, we investigated whether associations exist between leiomyomas and promoter polymorphisms in the MMP-1 and MMP-9 genes in a Japanese population. METHODS: We compared the distribution of polymorphisms in the promoter regions of MMP-1 (-1607 1G/2G) and MMP-9 (-1562 C/T) in 267 leiomyoma patients and 184 control patients using polymerase chain reaction-fragment-length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. RESULTS: The allele frequencies of the MMP-1 -1607 2G and MMP-9 -1562 T polymorphisms were 74.6% and 18.6% in leiomyoma patients, and 71.3% and 18.6% in control patients, respectively. No significant differences in allele frequencies or genotype distributions were found between leiomyoma and control patients. Moreover, no associations were found between MMP-1 and MMP-9 genotypes and leiomyoma size or a family history of the condition. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that MMP-1 and MMP-9 promoter polymorphisms are unlikely to be associated with an increased risk of uterine leiomyomas in Japanese women.

The CYP17 MspA1 polymorphism is not associated with an increased risk of uterine leiomyomas in a Japanese population.

The CYP17 gene is thought to be a candidate gene for susceptibility to hormone-related diseases. A single (T?C) nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region of CYP17 is speculated to influence its transcription. The present study was conducted to investigate the possible association between uterine leiomyomas and CYP17 gene polymorphism in a Japanese population. Genotyping analysis of the CYP17 gene was performed in 138 leiomyoma cases, 183 unaffected controls and 179 population controls using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. No significant difference in CYP17 genotype distribution was noted between leiomyoma cases and controls. Women carrying the A2 allele were not at an increased risk of uterine leiomyoma compared with those carrying the A1 allele in unaffected controls (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-1.72) and those carrying the A1 allele in population controls (odds ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-1.36). No significant difference in allele frequencies were found between leiomyoma cases and controls. These findings suggest that CYP17 gene polymorphism is unlikely to be associated with an increased risk of uterine leiomyomas in a Japanese population.

Dietary, but not topical, alpha-linolenic acid suppresses UVB-induced skin injury in hairless mice when compared with linoleic acids.

Peroxidizability of fatty acids in the air is roughly proportional to the number of double bonds, but in vivo peroxidation proceeds in a more complex manner. Here, we compared the effects of dietary and topically applied oils enriched with linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6) or alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3) on UV-induced skin injury in a strain of hairless mice. The UVB-induced erythema score was significantly lower in mice with topically applied creams containing LA and ALA than in mice with the basal cream; no significant increase in the score was detected in the ALA group compared with the LA group. However, dietary ALA inhibited the increase in erythema score after UVB irradiation compared with LA. The peroxidizability index of the skin total lipids was significantly higher, but UVB-induced prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production was significantly lower in the group fed an ALA-rich diet compared with the group fed an LA-rich diet. The levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, estimated in the presence of butylated hydroxytoluene in the assay mixture, were not affected by UVB treatment or by the dietary fatty acids, but the severity of the skin lesion was associated with PGE2 levels. These results indicate that the type of fatty acids, n-6 or n-3, is critical for the suppression of UVB-induced skin lesion when the skin fatty acids are modified by dietary manipulation. Anti-inflammatory activity of dietary flaxseed oil with relatively high ALA and low LA contents was demonstrated in UVB-irradiated hairless mice.