Our results suggest that farmers in this semiarid area have a high risk of lip cancer and indicate the need for health public programs in the early detection of AC and education to teach the population about precautions to be taken during sun exposure.

Context:Focal fibrous hyperplasia, also known as irritation or traumatic fibroma, is a reactive, inflammatory hyperplastic lesion of the connective tissue.Aim:The aim of this study is to perform a retrospective study of a focal fibrous hyperplasia of 18 years.Materials and Methods:We retrospectively reviewed 193 cases of focal fibrous hyperplasia of the oral cavity from the medical and histological reports of the Department of Oral Pathology, Pernambuco University, Brazil, during the period between January 1992 and December 2009.Settings and Design:Data with regard to age, gender, location, size of the lesion (equal to or less than 1 cm, between 1 and 2 cm and greater than 2 cm), pain, history of trauma, treatment, length of follow-up (from diagnosis to release or last review) and recurrence, were collected.Results:The most commonly affected site was the buccal mucosa (n = 119, 61.7%). Almost two-thirds of the cases were concentrated from the second to the fifth decade of life. Females were more affected than men and a history of trauma was related by 90.7% of the patients. Two recurrences were notified (1.0%).Conclusion:Further studies are needed on the distribution of the lesion in different ethnic and geographical populations. The influence of sex hormones on the development of focal fibrous hyperplasia must be clarified.

ABSTRACT

Due to the frequent presence of inflammation in cases of carcinoma and its use as a parameter for the assessment of tumor aggressiveness, the role of inflammation in oral carcinogenesis was investigated. This was performed by evaluating the expression of cellular markers, cytokines and nuclear transcription factors that identify the cells that participate in the antitumor defense in cases of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). A semi-quantitative immunohistochemical analysis was performed for the transcription factors cluster of differentiation 8 (CD8), forkhead box P3 (FOXP3), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and nuclear factor κ-light chain enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-κB), in cases of OED and OSCC. CD8, TGF-β, TNF-α and NF-κB participated in the processes of tumor transformation and progression. The presence of inflammatory infiltrate in cases of OED favors the transformation and invasion process when stromal TNF-α and NF-kB are overexpressed, as NF-kB activated by TNF-α during inflammation predisposes the lesion to transformation, functioning as a link between inflammation and cancer. The control of these inflammatory mediators may prevent malignant transformation in the oral cavity.

Context:Ameloblastomas are benign tumors of the jaws with locally invasive capacity.Aim:The aim of this study was to review 112 cases of ameloblastoma seen over an 18-year period (1992-2009) at the Pernambuco Dental School, University of Pernambuco and at Federal University of Sergipe, in the northeast region of Brazil.Materials and Methods:The following data were selected for analysis: age, gender, race, site distribution, radiographic appearance, association with an impacted tooth, size, presence of symptoms, clinicopathologic subtypes and recurrence.Settings and Design:In this retrospective study, Pearson's χ2 test and t-test were employed. The critical level of significance was set at P < 0.05.Results:The mean age of the patients at presentation was 35.1 ± 16.8 years with a slight female preference. The peak prevalence was in the 11- to 20-year age group and declined with increasing age. Total 75 patients were black and 37 were white, for a 2:1 black: white ratio. The location of the ameloblastomas showed a marked predominance in the mandible (84.8%) and 69% of the cases presented with a multilocular radiographic appearance. The tumor was associated with an embedded tooth in 14 cases (12.7%): nine unilocular and five multilocular ameloblastomas. The maximum radiological extension of the lesions on panoramic radiographs was 0.5-20 cm (mean ± SD: 5.2 ± 3.3 cm) and most cases were symptom-free (75.9%). Solid/multicystic ameloblastoma was the most common clinicopathologic subtype. There was an association between the clinicopathologic subtypes and radiographic appearance (P < 0.001). Recurrence was observed in 13.3% of cases.Conclusion:We propose that racial factors may have strong influence on the incidence of ameloblastomas in the northeast region of Brazil, since most people have African descent. Data related to gender, location, radiographic appearance, size, symptoms, clinicopathologic subtypes and recurrence were similar to previous studies conducted in various parts of the world.