Abstract Lesions of non-endodontic origin may mimic periapical abscess. Osteosarcoma is a rare malignant lesion. Case report The present report describes a case of chondroblastic osteosarcoma in the periapical region of teeth #29, #30, and #31 of an 18-year-old male. Clinical history showed self-reported discomfort in the right posterior gingiva for over a month. Physical examination showed a small expansion and redness of the right mandibular buccal and lingual cortical plates, but no signs of pain or inflammation were observed. All the teeth responded positively to pulp sensibility. Periapical and panoramic radiographs showed slight periapical radiolucency in the roots of teeth #29 and #30, clear periodontal ligament space widening, and evident loss of lamina dura. Incisional biopsy was performed, and based on microscopic findings the diagnosis of chondroblastic osteosarcoma was confirmed. Conclusions Non-endodontic diseases associated with tooth root apex, such as chondroblastic osteosarcoma, should be included in differential diagnosis of jaw lesions that resemble periapical abscess.

Resumo O câncer de boca e de orofaringe emerge como o 6º tipo de câncer mais comum no mundo. O tratamento pode envolver cirurgia, quimioterapia e radioterapia. Mais de 50% das drogas com atividade de combate ao câncer foram isoladas de fontes naturais, tais como a Catharanthus roseus e a epipodofilotoxina, isolada de Podophyllum. O maior desafio é maximizar o controle da doença, enquanto minimiza a morbidade e toxicidade para os tecidos normais circundantes. O Erythroxylum suberosum é uma planta comum no bioma Cerrado brasileiro e é popularmente conhecida como "cabelo-de-negro". O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a citotoxicidade dos extratos da planta Erythroxylum suberosum do bioma Cerrado brasileiro, associados à radioterapia em linhagens celulares humanas de carcinomas de língua e de hipofaringe. As células foram tratadas com os extratos aquoso, etanólico e hexânico do Erythroxylum suberosum e irradiadas com 4 Gy, 6 Gy e 8 Gy. A citotoxidade foi avaliada pelo ensaio de MTT e a absorvância foi medida a 570 nm em uma leitora Beckman. A cisplatina, quimioterápico padrão, foi utilizada como controle positivo. O uso de extratos de Erythroxylum suberosum mostrou potencial efeito radiosensibilizante in vitro no câncer de cabeça e pescoço. O efeito da citotoxicidade nas linhagens foi de forma não seletiva e muito semelhante ao efeito da quimioterapia padrão. O extrato aquoso de Erythroxylum suberosum, combinado com radioterapia, foi o extrato mais citotóxico para os carcinomas de língua e hipofaringe, associados à radioterapia.

Abstract The mouth and oropharynx cancer is the 6th most common type of cancer in the world. The treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. More than 50% of drugs against cancer were isolated from natural sources, such as Catharanthus roseus and epipodophyllotoxin, isolated from Podophyllum. The biggest challenge is to maximize the control of the disease, while minimizing morbidity and toxicity to the surrounding normal tissues. The Erythroxylum suberosum is a common plant in the Brazilian Cerrado biome and is popularly known as "cabelo-de-negro". The objective of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of Erythroxylum suberosum plant extracts of the Brazilian Cerrado biome associated with radiotherapy in human cell lines of oral and hypopharynx carcinomas. Cells were treated with aqueous, ethanolic and hexanic extracts of Erythroxylum suberosum and irradiated at 4 Gy, 6 Gy and 8 Gy. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay and the absorbance was measured at 570 nm in a Beckman Counter reader. Cisplatin, standard chemotherapy, was used as positive control. The use of Erythroxylum suberosum extracts showed a possible radiosensitizing effect in vitro for head and neck cancer. The cytotoxicity effect in the cell lines was not selective and it is very similar to the effect of standard chemotherapy. The aqueous extract of Erythroxylum suberosum, combined with radiotherapy was the most cytotoxic extract to oral and hypopharynx carcinomas.

Objective The current study aimed to investigate the β-catenin expression in oral leukoplakia (OL) with different degrees of epithelial dysplasia and normal oral mucosa. Material and Methods Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of 39 OL (mild dysplasia n=19, moderate dysplasia n=13, and severe dysplasia n=7), and 10 normal oral mucosa (control group) were submitted to immunohistochemical reactions to anti-β-catenin primary antibody. A qualitative β-catenin analysis was performed based on the percentage of positive cells. The cellular location and the epithelial layer were also considered. The Chi-square test and the Fisher’s exact test were used to verify possible differences in the β-catenin expression among the OL groups. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Membranous expression of β-catenin in parabasal and basal layers was gradually lost in the higher degrees of epithelial dysplasia. In normal oral mucosa, β-catenin was detected only in the cytoplasmic membrane. However, a significant increase in cytoplasmic β-catenin could be observed between mild and moderate dysplasia (Fisher Exact test - p<0.001) and between mild and severe dysplasia (p<0.001). Conclusions The β-catenin cytoplasmic expression observed in this study may represent the initial stage of modifications in the E-cadherin-catenin complex, along with morphological cellular changes.

INTRODUÇÃO: Nos últimos anos, alguns estudos foram conduzidos com o objetivo de avaliar a aplicabilidade da análise de desenvolvimento dos terceiros molares na estimativa da idade humana. No entanto, há escassez de trabalhos em amostras populacionais da região Centro-Oeste do Brasil.OBJETIVO: Avaliar a relação entre estágio de desenvolvimento dos terceiros molares inferiores e a idade cronológica de indivíduos da região Centro-Oeste do Brasil.MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Trata-se de um estudo observacional transversal, com uma amostra constituída por 120 prontuários de pacientes entre 5 e 22 anos de idade, dos gêneros masculino e feminino, atendidos entre os anos de 2007 e 2012 na nossa instituição. O estágio de desenvolvimento dos terceiros molares inferiores foi avaliado pelo método descrito por Nolla e relacionado à idade cronológica do indivíduo por meio de regressão linear, sendo considerados significantes valores de tendência linear entre 0 e 1.RESULTADO: Pode-se observar que tanto a amostra composta por pacientes do gênero masculino (R2 = 0,7495) quanto do feminino (R2 = 0,8507) apresentaram correlação linear entre o estágio de desenvolvimento dos terceiros molares inferiores e a idade cronológica. Notou-se, ainda, que os estágios de desenvolvimento coincidiram com idades semelhantes em ambos os gêneros.CONCLUSÃO: Há relação entre a idade cronológica e o estágio de desenvolvimento dos terceiros molares inferiores na amostra estudada. Estes dados sugerem que este tipo de análise deve ser individualizada, de acordo com as características populacionais da região.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years some studies have been taken to evaluate the applicability of the third molar development analysis in the estimation of human age. However, just a few studies with the population from Midwest Brazil were performed.OBJECTIVE: The present study aim to analyze the relationship between the lower third molars development stage and the chronological age of individuals in Midwest Brazil region.MATERIAL AND METHOD: This cross-sectional observational study comprised a total of 120 panoramic radiographies of patients aged 5-22 year-old, males and females, attended between 2007 and 2012 at our Institution. The third molars development stage was analyzed based on the method described by Nolla and related with the chronological age of the individual by linear regression. It was considered significant values for linear tendency between 0-1.RESULT: It was observed that both, male patients (R2 = 0.7495) and females (R2 = 0.8507), showed a linear correlation between the third molars development stage and chronological age. It was also noted that the development stages coincided with similar ages in both genders.CONCLUSION: There is a relationship between chronological age and developmental stage of the third molars in the sample studied. These data suggest that this type of analysis should be individualized according to the population characteristics.