Analysis of collagen fibers in keratocystic odontogenic tumor and ameloblastoma: A polarizing microscopic study.

Introduction: Collagen forms an integral part of connective tissue and maintains its structural integrity. It has natural birefringence which is attributed to the arrangement of its fibers and is enhanced by special stains such as picrosirius red through polarizing microscopy. The polarization colors differ according to the fiber thickness and pattern of arrangement which in turn related to aggressiveness.

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma: Report of two rare cases and review of literature.

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC) is a histologically distinct variant of SCC in the head-and-neck region it occurs most commonly in older men with a history of heavy smoking and alcohol abuse and usually presents as a high stage disease with widespread metastases and hence poor prognosis. BSCC is believed to arise from a totipotential primitive cell in the basal layer of the surface epithelium or from the salivary duct lining epithelium. BSCC is an uncommon tumor with a predilection for the upper aerodigestive tract, is a distinct variant of squamous carcinoma, due to its unique histological features and ominous clinical behavior.