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Objective: Tumor‐stroma ratio (TSR) is a promising parameter representing the abundance of the stroma which has been validated in many solid tumors. However, it is still not clear which part of stroma mainly contribute to the prognostic value of TSR. The aim of this study is to confirm the prognostic value of TSR in a large cohort of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and further demonstrated that cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs)‐stroma ratio (CSR) contributed to the prognostic value of TSR. Materials and methods: TSR was evaluated on hematoxylin and eosin stained tissue samples from 581 patients with OSCC, which divides patients into high (>50%) and low (<50%) stroma. Then, CSR was estimated on immunohistochemical staining slides of 100 patients selected from 581 patients. Results: In multivariate analysis, TSR was identified as an independent prognostic factor for disease‐free survival (DFS) (p < 0.001) and oral cancer‐specific survival (OCSS) (p < 0.001). The interaction term reached statistical significance for histological grade for DFS and OCSS separately. Furthermore, the high‐stroma group had a higher CSR than the low‐stroma group. Conclusion: The prognostic value of TSR is validated in OSCC particularly in moderate and high differentiation, and CSR plays its part in the prognosis of TSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the clinicopathological and evolutionary profile of the main locations of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)., Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study on 133 patients treated for OSCC. The group was composed of 48 women and 85 men, with a mean age 63.9 ± 12.73 years. Most cases involved the lingual border of tongue (63), followed by the gingiva (36) and the floor of mouth (34). A comparative analysis was performed using multinomial regression., Results: There were significant differences regarding age, sex, tobacco and alcohol consumption, liver pathology, oral potentially malignant disorders, and bone and perineural invasion. In multivariate regression, tobacco consumption, and bone invasion remained significant. There were no significant differences in relation to prognosis., Conclusion: The location of OSCC is an important factor in the clinicopathological assessment of this neoplasm. The main locations of OSCC show differential etiopathogenic and clinicopathological aspects. Tobacco consumption has a great relevance in the floor of mouth; nonetheless, it is less important in the tongue border and the gum, which suggests other pathogenic factors. It is necessary to consider the anatomical location of OSCC in preventive protocols, with the aim of reducing its high mortality., (© 2024 The Authors. Oral Diseases published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: To identify the teaching-learning process characteristics of Oral Pathology and Medicine (OP&M) related to oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and oral cancer (OC), in the dental schools' curricula in Mexico, to analyze the approach given to this topic worldwide, and to provide the possible solution strategies., Materials and Methods: Questionnaires were sent to OP&M deans and professors from public Mexican Universities to explore the curriculum and academic profile of the dental schools. The recommendations gathered from a workshop with expert professors on the challenges in OPMD/OC teaching were reported., Results: Twenty-two dental schools participated (22 deans, 30 professors). The most widely used strategies were clinical-case resolving (86%) and presentations (73%). Although 77.3% of the programs included maxillofacial lesions, only 40.9% contemplated OPMD/OC. Only 45% of the programs developed community activities for early OC detection. The workshop recommendations were (i) multidisciplinary approach to OPMD/OC teaching, involving OP&M professors in other dental and nondental courses; (ii) implementation of the most effective teaching techniques (currently, problem-based learning and clinical-case presentation) in OP&M curricula; (iii) education of OP&M professors on teaching-learning processes., Conclusions: These recommendations from the Mexican context, integrated with similar experiences from other countries could contribute to develop a unique, internationally acknowledged OP&M curriculum., (© 2023 The Authors. Oral Diseases published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on patients' access to primary care services. A timely diagnosis of oral squamosa cell carcinoma is paramount. This study aims to quantify the pandemic's effect on tumor volume at the time of initial diagnosis., Materials and Methods: In a retrospective study, all primarily diagnosed cancer patients between March 2018 and March 2022 were compiled; the TNM stage and the tumor volume were evaluated. Tumor volumes were calculated using pathology or radiology reports., Results: In total, 162 newly diagnosed tumor cases were included in this study. Of these, 76 (46.9%) cases were allocated in the "pre-COVID-19" group and 86 (53.1%) in the "COVID-19" group. Patients diagnosed during the "COVID-19" period showed a significantly advanced T stage (p < 0.001) and larger mean tumor volumes (53.16 ± 73.55 cm 3 vs. 39.89 ± 102.42 cm 3 ; p = 0.002) when compared to the control group., Conclusion: Tumor volume and T stage were significantly advanced in the "COVID-19" group when compared to prepandemic data. We hypothesize that the postponement of routine dental check-ups may explain this finding. Hence, dentists and primary care providers are encouraged to place particular emphasis on screening during routine check-ups., (© 2022 The Authors. Oral Diseases published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Little is known about the histopathological characteristics that may differentiate early oral tongue cancer (OTSCC) between young and older patients. From a total of 311 cases diagnosed with clinically early‐stage OTSCC at 6 institutions, only 42 patients were young patients were aged ≤45 years. For comparison, 42 patients >60 years old were matched for center of management, clinical stage and gender. We compared epithelial and stromal histopathologic parameters between the two groups. Most of the parameters were similar between the two groups, although the young patients appeared to have marginally higher intensity of tumor budding, histologic risk score, infiltrative pattern of invasion and tumor‐stroma ratio. However, none of the factors showed significant difference when comparing the two groups. The histological parameters reflect mechanisms of invasive growth and tissue response to invasive growth, but not the etiological difference in OTSCC between young and older patients. Further investigations are necessary to compare the genetic background of early OTSCC in the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To generate a nomogram for predicting the risk of neck node metastasis in pathologically node-negative patients using a combination of variables comprising of protein expression, ultrastructural alterations and clinicopathological parameters. Materials and Methods Surgically removed oral tumours ( n = 103) were analysed for the expression of desmosomal and hemidesmosomal assembly proteins by immunohistochemistry and ultrastructural alterations by transmission electron microscopy ( TEM). Protein expression, ultrastructural alterations and clinicopathological variables were used to construct nomogram from the training set in 75 patients. Clinical utility of the nomogram was validated in a discrete set of 28 patients. Results Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on the training set, and obtained significant variables comprising of integrin β4 expression ( p = .027), number of hemidesmosomes ( p = .027)/desmosomes ( p = .046), tumour differentiation grade ( p = .033) and tumour thickness ( p = .024) were used for construction of the nomogram. The area under the curve was calculated for both training 0.821 (95% CI 0.725-0.918) and validation sets 0.880 (95% CI 0.743-1.000). The nomogram demonstrated a predictive accuracy of 73.3% and 78.6% with the sensitivity of 81.4% and 83.3% in the training and validation sets, respectively. Conclusions The nomogram constructed on postsurgical tumour samples will be a value addition to histopathology for the detection of neck node metastasis in pathologically node-negative patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]