Study of CK18 and GDF5 immunoexpression in oral squamous cell carcinoma and their prognostic value.

Oral cavity cancer remains one of the most common cancers worldwide, with an increased incidence in young adults, although there has been lately a decrease tendency in the incidence of this form of cancer. Lingual localization has a very high mortality and tends to be more aggressive becoming frequently metastatic at the regional lymph nodes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of cytokeratin 18 (CK18) and the reactivity to GDF5 (CDMP-1), called the morphogenetic protein-1, cartilage-derived, in lingual squamous cell carcinoma and the correlation between the immunoreactivity of this panel of antibodies, and the clinical stage, the degree of differentiation and the invasion pattern.

TNF-α evaluation in tonsil cancer.

Squamous cell tonsil carcinoma is the most frequent form of oropharyngeal cancer, representing 70-80% of the total of head and neck malignant tumors. Poor clinical symptoms make that 60-80% of patients with squamous cell tonsil carcinoma have a late diagnosis, in the third and fourth stages, when the tumor exceeds the organ limits, invading the pharyngeal wall or the tongue base, being associated with metastases in the laterocervical lymphatic ganglions. The tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) represents an important inflammation mediator associated to carcinogenesis and even to tumor progression.

The immunohistochemical investigations of cadherin "switch" during epithelial-mesenchymal transition of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral cancer was ranked as the sixth worldwide most common cancer, but recent studies noticed an overall downward trend in its incidence. However, for tumors localized on the tongue, the incidence seems to increase. The malignant transformation of many carcinomas is associated with loss of epithelial differentiation and gain of a mesenchymal phenotype, a process known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) which for oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) could be a predictor and a prognostic factor.

[Etiopathogenic aspects in development and evolution of pterigyum].

Pterygium is an epithelial hyperplasia accompanied by a fibrovascular growth originating at the corneo-conjunctival junction, from where the modified limbic cells migrate and surpass the cornea. The studies reviewed show that it is an active process associated with cell growth, remodelling of the connective tissue, angiogenesis and inflammation. Despite the lack of knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of pterygia, epidemiologic evidence suggests that exposure to UV-irradiation may be an initial trigger in the development of this lesion.