A comparative study to assess risk of oral candidiasis in pregnant and nonpregnant women.

BACKGROUND: The major hormonal changes observed in pregnant women lead to an imbalance in the oral environment. Hence, recent studies suggest that the placenta may harbor a unique microbiome that may have originated in the maternal oral microbiome. AIM: The present study aimed to assess the risk factor of oral candidiasis in pregnancy and to evaluate the prevalence of Candida species in the oral cavity of pregnant women in all three trimesters. The comparison was also done between pregnant and nonpregnant women to evaluate the cause of the prevalence of candidal species. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty pregnant and thirty nonpregnant women aged between 20 and 30 years were included in the study that were healthy and who did not have any obvious lesion in the oral cavity. The sterile swabs were used to collect samples from the oral cavity from both the groups by brushing the dorsum of the tongue and buccal mucosa. The pregnant women were followed throughout the pregnancy, i.e., in every trimester, for the sample collection. The samples were then cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar media. The positive growth on culture plates was then inoculated on HiCrome agar differential agar media for speciation. RESULTS: Statistical analysis was done by comparing the positive growth in pregnant and nonpregnant women using Fisher's exact test. The pregnant women were compared in three trimesters using the McNemar Chi-square test. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that there was no significant presence of Candidal species when compared between pregnant and nonpregnant groups. The prevalence of Candida species also remained the same.

Stromal desmoplasia as a possible prognostic indicator in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: One of the major aspects of tumor cell invasion and metastasis is the interaction between cancer cells and the extracellular matrix component. The invasion of epithelial tumor cells into the underlying connective tissue stroma causes dynamic changes in its microenvironment, which can be seen as radical changes in the stroma. The characteristics of the stroma in relation to the invading malignant epithelial cells and the interdependence between the stroma and the tumor cells are always a matter of discussion and interest. AIM: The aim of this study is to predict the biological behavior of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) by evaluating stromal desmoplasia and its possible use as important prognostic indicators. OBJECTIVE: To assess the desmoplastic reaction in varying histopathological grades of OSCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included a total of 30 histopathologically prediagnosed cases of OSCC (well, moderate and poorly differentiated grades of OSCC). Picrosirius red stain in conjunction with polarizing microscope was used to evaluate the stromal desmoplastic reaction. RESULTS: The results of the study revealed that, in the initial grades, cancer invasion induces a desmoplastic reaction, whereas in the later stages, there is degradation of the stroma, thereby facilitating tumor invasion. CONCLUSION: The study would emphasize the importance of stromal desmoplasia as a prognostic indicator and may help to reflect the biological diversity of oral cancer and predict the clinical outcomes.

Denovo High Grade Salivary Duct Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Salivary Duct Carcinoma (SDC) is a distinctive and clinically aggressive adenocarcinoma of salivary origin. It arises from the ductal epithelium, predominantly occurring in the major salivary glands, especially the parotid gland. Here, we report a case of an extensive salivary gland pathology involving the right side of face, possibly arising from the parotid gland in a 25-year-old male patient. On routine histopathology, the tumour mass revealed a papillary pattern of neoplastic ductal epithelial cells showing comedo-like-central necrosis. Immunohistochemical staining showed tumour cells in the infiltrative component to be diffusely immunopositive for cytokeratin-7 and Her-2, confirming the diagnosis of SDC. This paper presents a case report on salivary duct carcinoma and highlights a review on histological variants of salivary duct carcinoma.

Parotid angiofibroma.

Angiofibromas are rare, benign, locally invasive vascular tumors, which represent 0.05-0.5% of all head and neck tumors. Most frequent site of occurrence is the posterior nasopharynx, called as nasopharyngeal angiofibromas (NA), when these arise outside the nasopharyngeal region they are termed as extranasopharyngeal angiofibromas (ENA). Only 65 cases of ENA have been reported, and the most common site has been reported to be maxilla followed by ethmoids. Other unusual sites of occurrence reported so far in literature are nasal cavity, nasal septum, larynx, sphenoid sinus, pterygomaxillary fissure, infratemporal fossa, cheek, oropharynx, retromolar area, middle turbinate, inferior turbinate, and tonsil. ENA arising from the superficial lobe of parotid gland has not been reported in the literature so far and this case is the first to be reported.

Pemphigus vulgaris presenting as gingival involvement.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune blistering disease affecting the mucous membrane and skin. Typically, oral lesions appear before skin lesions, and in a majority of the cases only oral lesions are present. The dentist may then be the first to recognize and diagnose this disease. It is unusual for PV to present over the gingiva as a primary site of involvement. Diagnosis is based on clinical presentation and confirmed by histopathological study. Early diagnosis and management can prevent the uneven life- threatening effects of this potentially chronic mucocutaneous disorder. The case serves to enhance our awareness of the gingiva as a site at which systemic disease can manifest itself.