The distribution of oral diseases using biopsies allows greater accuracy in data about oral health of elderly patients, especially when considering malignant and pre-malignant lesions.

No abstract

The present study aimed to detect possible differences in the data of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) cases diagnosed in a Dental School in São Paulo city over the last 40 years. The records of patients diagnosed as having OSCC between the years 1960 and 2008 were retrieved. The whole period was divided into four time periods. A total of 1,564 cases were reviewed. The variables analyzed were: sex, age, race, anatomical site, lesion duration, and lesion size. The chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Overall, males were more affected than females (3:1), but when comparing the first and last time periods, the ratio decreased significantly (5.8:1 to 2.8:1). A significant increase in the rate of OSCC in patients over 80 years was observed in the last time periods. The gingiva was the most affected site, but the frequency of lower lip involvement increased in the last time period. Regarding lesion size and duration of symptoms at the time of diagnosis, there was a significant difference between the first and last time periods. Smaller lesions were found and the time of lesion development was shorter in the last few years of the study. These findings support the optimistic view that, in recent years, earlier diagnosis has resulted from early oral cancer detection in São Paulo city.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a non-thermal phototherapy used in several medical applications, including wound healing, reduction of pain and amelioration of oral mucositis. Nevertheless, the effects of LLLT upon cancer or dysplastic cells have been so far poorly studied. Head and neck cancer patients receiving LLLT for oral mucositis, for example, might have remaining tumor cells that could be stimulated by LLLT. This study demonstrated that LLLT (GaAlAs – 660 nm or 780 nm, 40 mW, 2.05, 3.07 or 6.15 J/cm2) can modify oral dysplastic cells (DOK) and oral cancer cells (SCC9 and SCC25) growth by modulating the Akt/mTOR/CyclinD1 signaling pathway; LLLT significantly modified the expression of proteins related to progression and invasion in all the cell lines, and could aggravate oral cancer cellular behavior, increasing the expression of pAkt, pS6 and Cyclin D1 proteins and producing an aggressive Hsp90 isoform. Apoptosis was detected for SCC25 and was related to pAkt levels. Translocation of pAkt seen through Immunofluorescence from cytoplasm of control SCC9 cells (A) to nuclei of red (D) and infrared (G) laser irradiated cells. B, E and H: pAkt staining in control, red and infrared laser groups, respectively. C, F and I: nuclear DAPI in control, red and infrared groups, respectively.

Homeobox genes are regulatory genes encoding nuclear proteins that act as transcription factors, regulating aspects of morphogenesis and cell differentiation during normal embryonic development of several animals. Vertebrate homeobox genes can be divided in two subfamilies: clustered, or HOX genes, and nonclustered, or divergent, homeobox genes. During the last decades, several homeobox genes, clustered and nonclustered ones, were identified in normal tissue, in malignant cells, and in different diseases and metabolic alterations. Homeobox genes are involved in the normal teeth development and in familial teeth agenesis. Normal development and cancer have a great deal in common, as both processes involve shifts between cell proliferation and differentiation. The literature is accumulating evidences that homeobox genes play an important role in oncogenesis. Many cancers exhibit expression of or alteration in homeobox genes. Those include leukemias, colon, skin, prostate, breast and ovarian cancers, among others. This review is aimed at introducing readers to some of the homeobox family functions in normal tissues and especially in cancer.