Jain Shivani, Phulari Rashmi Gs, Rathore Rajendrasinh, Shah Arpan K, Sancheti Sankalp
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Microbiology, Manubhai Patel Dental College and Oral Research Institute, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
Department of Pathology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, Sangrur, Punjab, India.
J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2018 Jan-Apr;22(1):145. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.JOMFP_24_17.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common cancer of oral cavity. Tumor stage, thickness, lymph node metastasis (LNM), extranodal spread, perineural invasion, tumor differentiation, mutations, human papillomavirus infection, and tumor microenvironment are independent prognostic indicators of OSCC. However, clinically, among all factors, LNM is considered an important prognostic factor in OSCC as it not only determines the stage of disease but also the strongest independent factor which predicts recurrence of disease. Further research proves that there are several biologically important factors in tumor tissue and LNs which promote or defend LNM. While it is proposed that tumor-associated tissue eosinophils (TATE) and mast cells (MCs) have "immuno-protective" effect, this remains unproven and various researchers have conflicting opinion.
The aim is to determine the presence of TATE and MCs in OSCC and to evaluate if any association exists between them and LNM.
It is a comparative-retrospective study between 2 groups including 35 OSCC cases positive and 35 negative for LNM.
Quantification of cells was done by counting total number of cells in 10 high-power fields under ×40 objective lens using "zigzag" method and dividing it by total number of fields. Eosinophils stained bright red with carbol chromotrope and MCs purple-violet with toluidine blue.
Independent -test and Pearson's correlation were done using STATA IC 0.2 software. Level of significance was at 5%. Comparison of eosinophil and MC infiltration was done based on gender, metastatic, nonmetastatic LN, and in tumor proper.
This study showed weak positive correlation between mean eosinophils count in tumor and LNs. Recognition of TATE and MCs as integral to tumor biology opens an avenue for novel approaches to cancer therapies. We conclude that an increased number of immunological cells are a favorable prognostic indicator in OSCC.
口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）是口腔最常见的癌症。肿瘤分期、厚度、淋巴结转移（LNM）、结外扩散、神经周围浸润、肿瘤分化、突变、人乳头瘤病毒感染和肿瘤微环境是OSCC的独立预后指标。然而，在临床上，在所有因素中，LNM被认为是OSCC的一个重要预后因素，因为它不仅决定疾病分期，还是预测疾病复发的最强独立因素。进一步研究证明，肿瘤组织和淋巴结中有几个生物学上重要的因素促进或抵御LNM。虽然有人提出肿瘤相关组织嗜酸性粒细胞（TATE）和肥大细胞（MCs）具有“免疫保护”作用，但这一点尚未得到证实，不同研究者对此观点不一。
目的是确定OSCC中TATE和MCs的存在情况，并评估它们与LNM之间是否存在关联。
这是一项比较性回顾性研究，分为两组，包括35例LNM阳性和35例LNM阴性的OSCC病例。
使用“之”字形方法在×40物镜下计数10个高倍视野中的细胞总数，再除以视野总数，对细胞进行定量。嗜酸性粒细胞用石炭酸品红染成鲜红色，肥大细胞用甲苯胺蓝染成紫蓝色。
使用STATA IC 0.2软件进行独立t检验和Pearson相关性分析。显著性水平为5%。基于性别、转移性和非转移性淋巴结以及肿瘤本身，对嗜酸性粒细胞和肥大细胞浸润情况进行比较。
本研究显示肿瘤和淋巴结中平均嗜酸性粒细胞计数之间存在弱正相关。认识到TATE和MCs是肿瘤生物学的组成部分，为癌症治疗的新方法开辟了一条途径。我们得出结论，免疫细胞数量增加是OSCC的一个良好预后指标。
