Occurrence of bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaws in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis - a systematic review

BACKGROUND

To access the occurrence of bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw (BAONJ) in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Observational studies that evaluated the occurrence of BAONJ in individuals with RA (BAONJ-RA) were considered for inclusion. Electronic searches were performed up to December 2022 in six databases and in the grey literature. The study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment of the included studies according to the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists was performed. The certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

Five studies were included three cohort and two cross-sectional. The sample size of subjects with RA ranged from 16 to 3201. Together, the studies presented 36 cases of BAONJ-RA. Prevalence of BAONJ-RA ranged from 0.094% to 56.25%. The incidence ranged from 0.4% to 2.21. Women between the 6th and 8th decade of life were the most affected. Alendronate (n=5) and zoledronic acid (n=9), orally and intravenously, respectively, were the most used bisphosphonates. The duration of bisphosphonates use ranged from 2.7 to 8 years. The certainty of evidence was very low.

CONCLUSIONS

The occurrence of BAONJ-RA is low. However, the certainty of the evidence was very low for this outcome.

Can immunohistochemical biomarkers distinguish epithelial dysplasia degrees in actinic cheilitis? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Actinic cheilitis (AC) is a potentially malignant disorder of the lip, characterized by epithelial and connective tissue alterations caused by chronic exposure to ultraviolet radiation. In the past decades, diverse studies have been conducted in lip carcinogenesis and many biomarkers have been identified in lip lesions, yet there is no scientific evidence that determines its usefulness in the clinical setting or in histopathological routine. Therefore, we conducted the first systematic review in this field to summarize the results of published studies on immunohistochemical biomarkers in lip carcinogenesis, to evaluate if there is a marker than can distinguish the different histological grades of AC.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Retrospective studies that investigated immunohistochemical biomarkers in AC defined on standardised histological assessment were gathered from five databases and evaluated. Each study was qualitatively evaluated using the Critical Appraisal Tools from SUMARI.

RESULTS

The proliferation marker Ki-67 was the most studied biomarker and we observed, through meta-analysis, that it was differently expressed between AC and lip cancer, but not in AC subgroups. Most articles had a high risk of bias.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, the literature lacks quality follow up studies in actinic cheilitis. Multi-centre cohort studies, with patients stratified by treatment type and the use of image analysis software, could be the solution to further address the issues of investigating potentially malignant lesions and help change clinical practice, in terms of individualizing patients' treatment and prognosis prediction.

Apoptosis and cell cycle aberrations in epithelial odontogenic lesions: An evidence by the expression of p53, Bcl-2 and Bax

Background

Ameloblastoma (AMB), odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) and adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (AOT) are epithelial odontogenic lesions with diverse biologic profiles. Defects in regulation of apoptosis and cell cycle may be involved in the development and progression of those lesions, therefore we aimed to investigate the expression of Bcl-2, Bax and p53 to better understand the possible role of these proteins in AMBs, OKCs and AOTs.

Material and Methods

The studied sample consisted of 20 AMBs, 20 OKCs and 20 AOTs. Immunohistochemistry technique was performed for the antibodies p53, Bcl-2 and Bax. Immunoreactivity was observed in the epithelial component and positive cells were counted in five fields (100x magnification). Statistical analysis was performed with Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman tests (p<0.05).

Results

All lesions exhibited staining for the three studied proteins. There was no statistically significant associations between the expression of proteins and the lesions, however we identified a positive correlation between the expression of p53 and Bcl-2 (r = 0.200) and a negative correlation between p53 and Bax expressions (r = -0.100). In addition, p53 and Bax were similarly expressed between AMBs and OKCs. Bcl-2 was similarly expressed in AMBs and AOTs.

Conclusions

Apoptosis regulatory proteins, as well as cell cycle proteins, are differently expressed in epithelial odontogenic lesions and their expression is possibly related to the biological behavior of AMB, OKC and AOT.

Key words:Odontogenic tumors, apoptosis, apoptosis regulatory proteins, p53 tumor suppressor protein, immunohistochemistry.

Retrospective study of 289 odontogenic tumors in a Brazilian population

Background

Odontogenic tumors (OTs) are considered important among oral lesions because of their clinicopathological heterogeneity, and variable biological behavior. This paper aims to determine the frequency and distribution of OTs, over a period of 10 years, at a public university in Northeastern Brazil and compare this data with previous reports.

Material and Methods

We reviewed all cases of OTs from oral pathology laboratory of University of Pernambuco (UPE), from 2004 to 2014. Diagnoses were re-evaluated and the tumors were classified according to the latest (2005) World Health Organization Classification of Tumors. In addition, we searched in the English-language literature retrospective studies on OTs that used the same classification.

Results

Data was obtained allowing the analysis of the tissue hemodynamics. We were able to map the vascularization of the face and it was possible to access three arteries of small diameter (0,60mm angular artery; 0,55mm greater palatine artery; 0,45mm infraorbital artery).

Conclusions

OTs are uncommon neoplasms with geographic variation. Our clinicopathological features are according to literature. In the present study, KCOT was the most frequent one, showing that the new classification of OTs altered the distribution of these lesions and possibly made KCOT the most common OT observed in diagnostic services worldwide.

Key words:Odontogenic tumors, jaw neoplasms, epidemiology, oral pathology.