A comparative study of SPECT/CT fusion imaging and CT in infiltrated mandible by gingival carcinoma

Objective： The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical value of ^99mTc-methylene diphosphonic acid （MDP） SPECT/CT fusion imaging and CT scanning in diagnosis of infiltrated mandible by gingival carcinoma. Methods： 18 cases of gingival carcinoma were processed infiltrated mandible by ^99mTc-MDP SPECT/CT fusion image and CT, and their scanning results compared with pathology findings. Results： Eleven of 13 cases with well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma showed positive images, one of 11 cases was false positive images by pathology findings, and 10 cases were exhibited infiltrated mandibles; 5 cases with moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated squamous call carcinoma showed positive images, pathology showed carcinoma call had infiltrated cavum ossis of mandible. Five of 18 cases were positive images by CT. Conclusion： ^99mTc-MDP SPECT/CT fusion imaging is a useful method in diagnosis of infiltrated mandible by gingival carcinoma.

Presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis in gingival squamous cell carcinoma

Periodontal disease has been recently linked to a variety of systemic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, preterm delivery, and oral cancer. The most common bacteria associated with periodontal disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis （P. gingivalis） has not yet been studied in the malignant gingival tissues. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of R gingivalis in specimens from squamous cell carcinoma patients. We have performed immunohistochemical staining to investigate the presence of R gingivafis and Streptococcus gordonii （S. gordonii）, a non invasive oral bacteria, in paraffin embedded samples of gingival squamous cell carcinoma （n=10） and normal gingiva （n=5）. Staining for R gingivalis revealed the presence of the bacteria in normal gingival tissues and gingival carcinoma, with higher levels （more than 33%, P〈0.05） detected in the carcinoma samples. The staining intensity was also significantly enhanced in the malignant tissue by 2 folds （P〈0.023） compared to specimens stained for the non-invasive S. gordonii. R gingivalis is abundantly present in malignant oral epithelium suggesting a potential association of the bacteria with gingival squamous cell carcinoma.

Expression level of pre-B-cell leukemia transcription factor 2 (PBX2) as a prognostic marker for gingival squamous cell carcinoma

Objective： In this study, we investigated the interrelationship between clinicopathologic findings and pre-B-cell leukemia transcription factor 2 （PBX2） expression in gingival squamous cell carcinoma （GSCC）. Methods： Expression level of PBX2 was immunohistochemically examined in 66 GSCC subjects （30 men and 36 women） with ages ranging from 42 to 85 （median 64.5） years, in which staining intensity in tumor cells was categorized as either weaker （level 1 ） or equal to/stronger （level 2） than that in the endothelial cells. Results： PBX2 expression is correlated with valosin-containing protein （VCP） expression. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed a high level of PBX2 expression to be a poor prognosticator for disease-free survival （DFS） and overall survival （OS）, and PBX2 expression was an independent prognostic factor for both DFS and OS in GSCC. Conclusions： PBX2 expression level in GSCC is proqnostic. PBX2 may be a useful marker to identify the potential for progression in GSCC.