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Background: c-MYC is a potent oncoprotein with roles in a wide range of cellular processes such as differentiation, apoptosis and growth control. Deregulation of the MYC gene is commonly seen in human tumours resulting in overexpression of the protein. Here we studied expression of c-MYC in correlation to clinical outcome in patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile tongue.Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to identify c-MYC in a group of 104 tongue squamous cell carcinomas with an antibody directed against the N-terminal part of the protein. Staining was evaluated by multiplying the percentage of c-MYC-expressing cells with staining intensity, giving a quick score for each tumour.Results: All 104 tumours expressed c-MYC at varying levels. Quantitation according to per cent of positive cells and staining intensity revealed that most (15/21; 71%) high-expressing tumours were seen in males. Within the group of high c-MYC-expressing tumours, the majority were alive 2 and 5 years after treatment.Conclusions: The present findings show that expression of c-MYC has prognostic value in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, and could be useful in choice of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) comprises a large group of cancers in the oral cavity and nasopharyngeal area that typically arise in older males in association with alcohol/tobacco usage. Within the oral cavity, the mobile tongue is the most common site for tumour development. The incidence of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is increasing in younger people, which has been suggested to associate with a viral aetiology. Two common human oncogenic viruses, human papilloma virus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are known causes of certain types of SCCHN, namely the oropharynx and nasopharynx, respectively. EBV infects most adults worldwide through oral transmission and establishes a latent infection, with sporadic productive viral replication and release of virus in the oral cavity throughout life. In view of the prevalence of EBV in the oral cavity and recent data indicating that it infects tongue epithelial cells and establishes latency, we examined 98 cases of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile tongue and 15 cases of tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma for the presence of EBV-encoded RNAs (EBERs), EBV DNA and an EBV-encoded protein, EBNA-1. A commercially available in situ hybridisation kit targeting EBER transcripts (EBER-ISH) showed a positive signal in the cytoplasm and/or nuclei of tumour cells in 43% of TSCCs. However, application of control probes and RNase A digestion using in-house developed EBER-ISH showed identical EBER staining patterns, indicating non-specific signals. PCR analysis of the BamH1 W repeat sequences did not identify EBV genomes in tumour samples. Immunohistochemistry for EBNA-1 was also negative. These data exclude EBV as a potential player in TSCC in both old and young patients and highlight the importance of appropriate controls for EBER-ISH in investigating EBV in human diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early oral squamous cell carcinoma (EOSCC) represents about 90% of the oral cancers especially in older males. The etiology is multifactorial, strongly related to tobacco and alcohol abuse, but also infective agents, Human papillomaviruses (HPV16-18), genetic factors and pre-neoplastic lesions seem to be implicated. There is no consensus in the literature for the treatment of early squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (stages IeII); both an elective neck dissection policy and a watchful-waiting policy have their proponents in the different centers. Methods: The records of 127 patients with EOSCC of the tongue treated in our Department between 2007 and 2011, with cN0 neck staging, who underwent resection of the primary tumor with or without elective neck dissection, were reviewed. Results: We divided the patients into two groups, in Group 1 the 66 patients who received an elective neck dissection 30 days later from the primary surgery have been included, and in Group 2 the 61 patients undergoing "watchful waiting" observation for the development of nodal metastases have been collected. Statistical calculations were performed using Chi-square and t student test. Conclusions: A significant difference was found between the two groups as concerns tumor stage and pathologic tumor classification (p < 0.001). No significant differences were present between the two groups as concerns mean follow up (P = 0.2), relapse rate (p = 0.3) and relapse-free survival time (p = 0.2). In T1 stage tumors with depth of infiltration ≼4 mm, or low grade (G1-G2), the "watchful waiting" strategy for cervical metastases is appropriate, given the low regional recurrence rate (15%) and overall survival of 100%. In case of T2 lesions with depth of infiltration ≽4 mm or high grade (G3) we prefer to perform the elective neck dissection, with 13% of local recurrence and 100% of survival at 6 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Lipoma is a benign tumor infrequent in the oral cavity, particularly in the tongue: indeed, lipomas only represent approximately 0.3% of all tongue neoplasia. Compared to conventional lipoma, fibrolipoma of the tongue is a very rare lesion that accounts for around 25–40% of tongue lipomas, and until now, to the best of our knowledge, only 14 cases have been described in which histological diagnosis of fibrolipoma was specifically confirmed. We report the case of a patient with a voluminous fibrolipoma of the tongue, treated by means of surgical excision. Fibrolipoma excision, like that described in this report, sometimes may be laborious, because fibrous bands appear to be focally infiltrating adjacent tissues, giving rise to some doubts about the nature of the lesion. Case presentation: We report the case of a voluminous fibrolipoma of the tongue in a 71-year-old Caucasian woman. Conclusions: Because of its histological characteristics, abundance of connective and secondary changes/atrophy, fibrolipoma may appear as infiltrating adjacent tissues and may cause doubts of differential diagnosis with malignant infiltrating lesions. Surgical excision is the elective treatment. However, an accurate differential diagnosis, postsurgical histological examination and careful follow-up are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]