European journal of cancer. Part B, Oral oncology最新文献

Twenty-four salivary gland tumours (six pleomorphic adenomas, two myoepitheliomas, five basal cell adenomas, six adenoid cystic carcinomas and five polymorphous low grade adenocarcinomas) were investigated by an immunocytochemical technique using monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratins (CKs) 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 18 and 19. The luminal cells of ductal structures of the tumours reacted with all the CKs studied except for CK 13 and CK 10 and sometimes CK 14, showing an immunoprofile comparable to that of the intercalated segment of a normal salivary gland. The outer cells of the ducts rarely stained with CK 14, confirming that full differentiation of the myoepithelial cells is seldom achieved in tumours. Considerations were made regarding the intriguing expression of CK 14, the heterogeneous expression of CKs in the modified myoepithelial cells and the immunoprofile of the polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma.

A cell kinetic study of 27 newly diagnosed patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using the in vitro bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) technique was performed. The results were reproducible as demonstrated by three independent sections performed on each patient. No correlation between BrdU labelling index (LI) and Ho's clinical staging was found. A higher LI was associated with the development of distant metastases (P = 0.057). Statistically significant correlation was found between low LI and longer duration required to achieve complete remission in the primary site of disease (P = 0.026). This study suggests a potential role for in vitro BrdU labelling index as a prognosticator for NPC prior to treatment.

The present study investigates relationships between neovascularisation and PCNA cell proliferation markers in different pathological lesions of the oral cheek mucosa. All specimens were fixed in 10% formalin and routinely processed for histology. Six normal (N) samples were taken from resection margins of benign lesions. The pathological lesions consisted of chronic inflammation (n = 10), lichen planus (n = 7), fibrous hyperplasia (n = 11), dysplasia (n = 5), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 22) and epithelium adjacent to carcinoma (n = 6). Adjacent 5 μm sections were stained with monoclonal antibodies against vimentin (clone no. V9) for identification of stromal blood vessels and against proliferating nuclear antigen (PCNA/PC10) using ABC immunoperoxidase techniques. Point counting was used to obtain the primary morphometric data using a Zeiss VIDAS image analyser. No attempt was made to classify the different types of blood vessels. The morphometric blood vessel parameters estimated were volume density, number per unit area, length per unit volume and mean transverse sectional area. PCNA indices were determined by estimating the percentage frequency of PCNA positive nuclei in basal and spinous strata. Generally, there were significant increases in all PCNA indices and blood vessel parameters between the N group and the different pathological lesions. A highly positive correlation was detected between all PCNA indices and blood vessel parameters. These data suggest that increased vascularity and angiogenesis occur in support of actively proliferating and transforming oral epithelial cells in order to permit growth. PCNA indices and blood vessel parameters may have a potential application as diagnostic and prognostic indicators.

The aetiology of oral cancer is thought to be multifactorial. Apart from the two known major risk factors (tobacco and alcohol), a viral aetiology has been proposed, with special reference to human papillomavirus (HPV).

35 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), seen at the Departments of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Pathology and Otolaryngology of the Free University of Amsterdam, were analysed as well as 12 biopsies of clinically and histologically normal gingival mucosa collected from healthy individuals after tooth extractions, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and two different sets of primers that are able to detect a broad spectrum of HPV types.

An overall HPV positivity of 54.3% in OSCC was found, the majority of positive cases (78.9%) harbouring HPV type 16. In contrast, no positivity for HPV was detected in the clinically normal oral mucosal samples analysed. Furthermore, a significant association between HPV presence and age was found: patients older than 60 years showed a lower prevalence of the virus (29.4%) compared with patients below this age (77.8%) (P < 0.05). The results from the present study suggest an association between HPV and OSCC, particularly in patients under the seventh decade.

Treatment of stage IA non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of Waldeyer's ring remains controversial, probably because of the small number of patients and the scarcity of controlled studies. Between 1981 and 1991, 316 patients with stage I NHL of Waldeyer's ring were randomised for treatment with radiotherapy alone (extended fields), 101 patients; combined chemotherapy with a regimen of CHOP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisone) or CHOP-like (epirubicin instead of doxorubicin), 106 patients; and combined therapy (radiotherapy followed by the same combination chemotherapy), 109 patients. Median follow-up was 6.8 years. Complete response was achieved in 93, 87 and 97%, respectively. Relapses were least frequent in patients treated with combination therapy. The 5-year rate for failure-free survival was 48% for radiation therapy, 45% for the patients who were treated with chemotherapy, which was statistically significantly less than the 83% for patients treated with combined therapy (P < 0.001). Overall survival was also better in the combined therapy arm: 90%, statistically different to 58% for the patients treated with chemotherapy alone and 56% for patients treated with radiation therapy (P < 0.001). Toxicity was mild and late side-effects were not observed in any patients. From these results combined therapy should be considered as the best therapeutic approach in patients with localised NHL of Waldeyer's ring.

It is well recognised that lymphoma may arise in a lymphoepithelial lesion of the salivary glands. Although the histological features of this lesion are well described, it is not clear what proportion contain monoclonal populations of lymphocytes at outset. In this study, 22 routinely processed lymphoepithelial lesions in parotid glands were examined for B-cell monoclonality using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene and using in situ hybridisation or immunohistochemistry to detect k or λ light chain restriction. B-cell monoclonality was identified in $\text{17}\text{22}$ (77.3%) cases using a combination of the three methods. The detection rate for B-cell monoclonality was highest using PCR with $\text{15}\text{22}$ (68%) cases containing monoclonal immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangements. In a proportion of cases the results of in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry were judged to be inadequate and this was probably a reflection of variations in fixation. In 7 patients, sequential biopsies were available from other sites and 6 of these also showed B-cell monoclonality. The results confirm the high prevalence of B-cell monoclonality in lymphoepithelial lesions of the major salivary glands. Furthermore, these results would suggest that PCR is a more reliable technique to identify B-cell monoclonality in routinely processed lymphoepithelial lesions compared to in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry.

We have previously shown overexpression of p53 and 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) in potentially malignant, as well as malignant, oral lesions in an Indian population, suggesting that alterations of p53 and HSP70 expression may occur in the early stages of oral tumorigenesis. Herein we report immunological evidence for the specific association between p53 and HSP70 in potentially malignant and malignant oral lesions. This association was indicated by coimmunoprecipitation of p53 and HSP72/73 proteins observed with either an anti-p53 monoclonal antibody or an anti-HSP72/73 antibody. Furthermore, reciprocal blotting analysis showed that HSP72/73 proteins did not share an epitope with p53, confirming that the coimmunoprecipitation of p53 and HSP72/73 is a physical association of the proteins in potentially malignant lesions (dysplasia) and oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). p53-HSP70 complex formation was observed in $\text{19}\text{52}$ cases of oral SCCs and $\text{10}\text{53}$ cases of potentially malignant lesions (leucoplakia). Normal oral mucosa did not show the presence of p53-HSP70 complexes ($\text{0}\text{20}\text{cases}$). p53-HSP70 complex formation may be one of the mechanisms of stabilisation of p53 protein resulting in its increased levels in potentially malignant and malignant oral lesions and may be implicated in oral carcinogenesis.