Stathmin! An immunohistochemical analysis of the novel marker in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia.

BACKGROUND: Stathmin is an intracellular phosphoprotein that controls the microtubule dynamics by further regulating proper attachment and alignment of chromosomes in a dividing cell. Thus, any mutation or aberrantly expressed protein that reduces the fidelity of spindle assembly will enhance chromosomal instability contributing to aneuploidy. Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma is an extensively studied malignancy that occurs due to accumulated genetic changes due to carcinogens. The current study is done to evaluate the stathmin role and its expression in OSCC and Oral epithelial dysplasia (OED). OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of stathmin in OSCC and Oral dysplasia and also to correlate the expression of Stathmin with respect to the different histopathological grades of OED and OSCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 30 neutral buffered formalin fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues of Oral Leukoplakia/OED and 30 FFPE tissues of OSCC were subjected to immunohistochemistry with stathmin antibody. Five fields of each case with 300 cells were examined and a mean percentage of positive-stained slides were determined. The percentages were recorded accordingly with their respective histological grades. The results were analysed statistically. RESULTS: The results of the present study demonstrated higher mean values of stathmin in tissues with OSCC (2.50) compared to leukoplakia (2.11) and normal tissues (0.00) with a high level of statistical significance (0.0001). There is also an increase in the percentage levels of stathmin with increase in the histological grade of differentiation in OSCC as well as leukoplakia. CONCLUSION: The present study found a statistical correlation between increased grades of the disease with expression levels of stathmin. This confirms that stathmin expression can contribute to disease progression and that stathmin might have a potential role as an early diagnostic biomarker and can be a therapeutic target for OSCC. 
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Ameloblastoma arising in the wall of dentigerous cyst: Report of a rare entity.

Dentigerous cyst (DC) is a developmental odontogenic cyst that encloses the crown of an unerupted tooth by expansion of its follicle with accumulation of fluid between the reduced enamel epithelium and the tooth crown and is attached to the neck of the tooth. The lining of DCs shows a potential for neoplastic transformation to ameloblastoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Here, we report a rare case of an ameloblastoma arising in the wall of a DC.

Demystifying the nature of hard tissues in odontogenic tumors using Modified Gallego's stain: A preliminary study.

INTRODUCTION: Histological stains are dyes that bind to a variety of tissues. Modified Gallego's (MG) stain is a modification of Lille's stain that can be used as a differential stain for identification of hard tissues in oral pathological lesions. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to identify the presence of hard tissues such as enamel, dentin and cementum in normal extracted teeth and odontogenic tumors using MG stain and to compare the efficacy of MG stain with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain. METHODS: A total of fifty samples, twenty decalcified sections of teeth and thirty cases of odontogenic tumors, were included in the present study. Two sections were cut from the above cases and stained with H&E stain and MG stain, respectively, and assessed for the nature of hard tissue. RESULTS: In H&E staining, enamel, dentine, cementum and bone stained pink. Whereas, in MG stain, enamel stained pink, dentin and bone stained green, while cementum stained red. The shade of color differs with the degree of mineralization of the hard tissues in MG stain. CONCLUSION: MG stain can be used as a differential stain for different hard-tissue structures when compared to routine H and E staining.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of mandible: A rare case report and review of literature.

Inflammatory pseudotumor is a term given to different neoplastic and nonneoplastic entities that have a common histological appearance, which comprises spindle cell proliferation with a prominent chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is an uncommon lesion with distinctive clinical, pathological and molecular features and is considered to be pseudotumor for the past two decades due to its appearance. IMT is an intermediate soft tissue tumor which was first observed in lungs. It was named as IMT because it mimics a malignant neoplasm clinically, radiologically and histopathologically. The most common sites are lungs, liver and gastrointestinal tract. IMT in head and neck region is exceptionally rare and the sites reported include gingiva, tongue, hard palate, mandible, buccal mucosa and submandibular salivary gland. Till now, 8 cases of intramandibular IMT were reported. Here, we report an additional case of intramandibular IMT in a 20-year-old male patient.

Non Calcifying Type of Calcifying Epithelial Odontogenic Tumor: An Unusual Case Report with Special Emphasis on Histogenesis of Calcifications.

Calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumour also known as Pindborg tumour, is a rare benign odontogenic neoplasm of locally aggressive behavior. It is thought to arise from the epithelial element of the enamel origin which are reminiscent of the cells in the stratum intermedium layer of enamel organ in tooth development. The tumour is characterized histologically by the presence of polygonal epithelial cells, calcifications and eosinophilic deposits resembling amyloid. Non-calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumours are very rare and unusual. Only five cases have been reported in the English literature till date. Here, we present an additional case of non calcifying type along with a review of previously reported cases. It has a much lower recurrence and malignant transformation rate.

Age estimation using exfoliative cytology and radiovisiography: A comparative study.

INTRODUCTION: Age estimation is one of the essential factors in establishing the identity of an individual. Among various methods, exfoliative cytology (EC) is a unique, noninvasive technique, involving simple, and pain-free collection of intact cells from the oral cavity for microscopic examination. OBJECTIVE: The study was undertaken with an aim to estimate the age of an individual from the average cell size of their buccal smears calculated using image analysis morphometric software and the pulp-tooth area ratio in mandibular canine of the same individual using radiovisiography (RVG). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Buccal smears were collected from 100 apparently healthy individuals. After fixation in 95% alcohol, the smears were stained using Papanicolaou stain. The average cell size was measured using image analysis software (Image-Pro Insight 8.0). The RVG images of mandibular canines were obtained, pulp and tooth areas were traced using AutoCAD 2010 software, and area ratio was calculated. The estimated age was then calculated using regression analysis. RESULTS: The paired t-test between chronological age and estimated age by cell size and pulp-tooth area ratio was statistically nonsignificant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: In the present study, age estimated by pulp-tooth area ratio and EC yielded good results.

Granular cell ameloblastoma of jaw - Report of a case with an emphasis on its characterization.

Ameloblastoma is a neoplasm of odontogenic epithelium, especially of enamel organ-type tissue that has not undergone differentiation to the point of hard tissue formation. It accounts for approximately 10% of all tumors originating from gnathic bones. It exhibits diverse microscopic patterns which occurs either singly or in combination with other patterns. Granular cell ameloblastoma is a rare condition, accounting for 3.5% of all ameloblastoma cases that shows marked transformation in the cytoplasm of tumor cells, which are usually stellate reticulum like cells. The transformed cells possess very coarse, granular, eosinophilic cytoplasm. The "granular change" is thought to be due to a dysfunctional status of neoplastic cells, and the pathogenesis of this tumour seems to be age-related. Ultrastructural, histochemical, and immunohitochemical studies have revealed that cytoplasmic granularity is caused by overload; however the mechanism ivolved remains poorly understood. This article describes a case of granular cell variant of ameloblastoma affecting a 55-year old female. Key words:Ameloblastoma, granular cell, odontogenic tumor.