Paulo Tadeu de Souza Figueiredo

Radiografia panorâmica: instrumento auxiliar no diagnóstico da osteoporose

Osteoporosis is considered as a public health problem by World Health Organization. The identification of subjects at risk of fractures and with low bone mineral density is the basis of any preventive osteoporosis program. Then, high risk individuals should be referred for dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). DXA is considered the gold standard of bone mineral density assessment. Nevertheless, bone densitometry has a limited availability for routine use in population screening. Panoramic radiography is conducted routinely in elderly populations, especially for edentulous patients before treating with complete denture or implants. Some panoramic radiographic measurements, also known as panoramic radiomorphometric indices, may identify postmenopausal women that should perform bone densitometry. The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of panoramic radiography as an auxiliary tool in the diagnosis of osteoporosis and low bone mineral density.

Imaging Findings of Bisphosphonate-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws: A Critical Review of the Quantitative Studies

Objectives. This paper offers a critical review of published information on the imaging strategies used for diagnosing bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) in patients taking intravenous bisphosphonates, pointing at the different methodologies and results of existing literature. Methods. Electronic literature search was performed in order to identify as many quantitative studies that discussed the imaging findings of BRONJ up to February 2014. Initially, the search for articles was based on the following four types of imaging modalities for evaluating BRONJ: computed tomography, plain film radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging, and nuclear bone scanning. Results. Eleven out of the 79 initially selected articles met the inclusion criteria. Most of the selected articles were cross-sectional studies. Regarding the selected studies, 54.5% have used plain films radiographs and 54.5% were based on computed tomography findings. All of the selected studies showed a small number of patients and none of the selected studies have tested the accuracy of the imaging examination for evaluating BRONJ. Conclusions. This critical review showed a scarcity of quantitative studies that analyzed the typical imaging findings related to BRONJ. Further studies are necessary in order to analyze the role of different imaging techniques in the assessment of BRONJ.

Assessing oral brushing technique as a source to collect DNA and its use in detecting human papillomavirus.

Collecting buccal cell DNA has a number of advantages in terms of practicality and technical quality when employed for detecting human papillomavirus (HPV), arguably an important etiological factor for head and neck carcinomas. The objective of the present study was to assess oropharyngeal mucosa brushing as an effective method for collecting DNA samples and for detecting HPV. Forty-three female patients diagnosed with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, and 21 of their spouses, both groups without clinically detectable oral lesions, were submitted to quantitative and qualitative DNA analysis obtained through buccal cell brushing, with spectrophotometry assessment and beta-globin PCR. DNA samples were also checked for the presence of HPV. Efficient collection of DNA was achieved in all the sample cases. Two samples, a male and a female (not sexual partners), showed HPV-positivity. The results revealed that the oral brushing technique is an effective method for DNA collection to detect HPV, confirming that it could usefully contribute to epidemiological studies undertaken in Brazils Public Health System. HPV detection using PCR showed that only 3.12% of the cases were HPV-positive. Although the sample was small, our study nevertheless allowed the detection of HPV in DNA samples of oral biological material.

Dental panoramic indices and fractal dimension measurements in osteogenesis imperfecta children under pamidronate treatment.

OBJECTIVES To verify radiomorphometric indices and fractal dimension (FD) in dental panoramic radiographs (DPRs) of children with different types of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) and also to verify the effect of pamidronate (PAM) treatment in such panoramic analyses. METHODS In this retrospective study, 197 DPRs of 62 children with OI Types I, III and IV who were in treatment with a comparable dosage of intravenous PAM were selected. The mandibular cortical width (MCW), mandibular cortical index, visual estimation of the cortical width and FD of three standardized trabecular and cortical mandibular regions of interest were obtained from the radiographs. Factorial analysis of variance and Fisher test were used to compare FD and MCW measurements in children with different types of OI for different PAM cycles. RESULTS Children with all types of OI have thinner and more porous mandibular cortices at the beginning of treatment. There were significant differences between MCW and FD of the cortical bone, regarding different types of OI and number of PAM cycles (p = 0.037 and p = 0.044, respectively). FD measurements of the trabecular bone were not statistically different among OI types nor were PAM cycles (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Children with OI presented cortical bone alterations after PAM treatment. Both MCW and the FD of the cortical bone were higher in children with OI after PAM treatment. It is argued that cortical bone should be considered for analyzing patients with OI, as well as to monitor the progress of PAM treatment.

Oral cancer staging established by magnetic resonance imaging

The aim of this study was to compare clinical staging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) staging for oral cancer, and to assess inter-observer agreement between oral and medical radiologists. A total of 10 patients diagnosed with oral cancer were assessed before treatment. A head and neck surgeon performed clinical TNM staging. Two medical radiologists and two oral radiologists performed a new staging assessment by interpreting MRI scans, without prior knowledge of the clinical staging. They evaluated the extent of the primary tumor (T), metastasis to regional lymph nodes (N) and grouping by stages. The data were analyzed using the Kappa Index. There was significant agreement (p < 0.05) between the clinical and MRI staging assessments made by one oral radiologist for N stage, and between those made by one medical radiologist for the T and N stages and for the grouping by stages. In the MRI assessment, there was significant agreement among all four observers for both T stage and grouping by stages. For the N stage, there was no significant agreement between one oral radiologist and one medical radiologist or between both medical radiologists. There was significant agreement among the remaining radiologists. There was no agreement between the clinical and MRI staging. These results indicate the importance of using MRI for the diagnosis of oral cancer. Training initiatives and calibration of medical and oral radiologists should be promoted to provide an improved multidisciplinary approach to oral cancer.

Comparison between computed tomography and clinical evaluation in tumour/node stage and follow-up of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer

OBJECTIVES The aim was to verify the concordance of CT evaluation among four radiologists (two oral and maxillofacial and two medical radiologists) at the TN (tumour/node) stage and in the follow-up of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer patients. The study also compared differences between clinical and CT examinations in determining the TN stage. METHODS The following clinical and tomographic findings of 15 non-treated oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer patients were compared: tumour size, bone invasion and lymph node metastases. In another 15 patients, who had previously been treated, a clinical and tomographic analysis comparison for the presence of tumoural recurrence, post-therapeutic changes in muscles and lymph node metastases was performed. The concordances of tomographic evaluation between the radiologists were analysed using the kappa index. RESULTS Significant agreement was verified between all radiologists for the T stage, but not for the N stage. In the group of treated patients, CT disclosed post-therapeutic changes in muscles, tumour recurrence and lymph node metastases, but no concordance for the detection of lymph node metastases was found between radiologists. In the first group, for all radiologists, no concordance was demonstrated between clinical and tomographic staging. CT was effective for delimitating advanced lesions and for detecting lymph node involvement in N0 stage patients. CT revealed two cases of bone invasion not clinically detected. CONCLUSIONS Interprofessional relationships must be stimulated to improve diagnoses, and to promote a multidisciplinary approach to oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer. Although CT was important in the diagnosis and follow-up of cancer patients, differences between medical and dental analyses should be acknowledged.

Effectiveness of FDG-PET/CT for evaluating early response to induction chemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review.

Background:18F-Fluoro-Deoxy-Glucose Positron Emission Tomography with Computed Tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) may be a powerful tool to predict treatment outcome. We aimed to review the effectiveness of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the assessment of early response to induction chemotherapy (IC) in patients with advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC) without previous treatment. Methods:PubMed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct and Web of Science were searched to May 2016. Reference lists of the included articles and additional studies identified by one nuclear medicine expert were screened for potential relevant studies that investigated the effectiveness of 18F-FDG PET/CT performed before and after IC. Three authors independently screened all retrieved articles, selected studies that met inclusion criteria and extracted data. The methodology of the selected studies was evaluated by using the risk of bias checklist of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Results:Seven out of 170 eligible studies met our inclusion criteria. A total of 207 advanced HNSCC patients were evaluated with 18F-FDG PET/CT at baseline and after IC in the selected articles. Six from seven studies concluded that 18F-FDG PET/CT allowed early evaluation response to IC and predicted survival outcomes. Conclusion:The present systematic review confirms the potential value of 18F-FDG PET/CT as a diagnostic tool for early IV response assessment in HNSCC patients. However, the lack of standard definitions for response criteria and heterogeneous IC protocols indicate the need to further studies in order to better define the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in these patients.

Dento-osseous anomalies associated to familial adenomatous polyposis mimicking florid cemento-osseous dysplasia

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a colorectal cancer syndrome characterized by the development of multiple polyps of the colon and rectum with high risk of malignant transformation. The extraintestinal manifestations such as dento-osseous changes are associated with FAP. This is a case report of a 36-year-old female patient who was referred for dental treatment with the initial diagnosis of florid cemento-osseous dysplasia (FCOD). However, the association of the imaging dento-osseous findings with the medical history confirmed the diagnosis of FAP. The paper illustrates the clinical characteristics and imaging findings associated with FAP, and also discusses misdiagnosis based exclusively on imaging features.

Biomarkers in the assessment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the capability of biomarkers to predict the risk of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients, as well as to assess the correlation between these biomarkers and the severity of mucositis.MethodsThe search was performed at LILACS, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science. A search of the gray literature was performed on Google Scholar, OpenGrey, and ProQuest. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (MAStARI) tool, and the evidence quality was assessed by the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system.ResultsAfter a two-step selection process, 26 studies met the eligibility criteria. In total, 27 biomarkers were evaluated, and the most frequent were the epidermal growth factor (EGF), C-reactive protein (CRP), genetic polymorphisms, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The meta-analysis showed an expression of polymorphisms in XRCC1 (32.66%), XRCC3 (31.00%), and RAD51 (39.16%) genes, as well as an expression of protein biomarkers (39.57%), in patients with an increased risk of developing oral mucositis.ConclusionsDosing biomarkers before starting radiation therapy may be a promising method to predict the risk of developing mucositis and allow radiosensitive patients to have a customized treatment. Although there is currently limited evidence to confirm the putative implementation of serum and salivary biomarkers to assess the correlation between them and the severity of mucositis, this current review provides new research directions.

Systematic review with hierarchical clustering analysis for the fractal dimension in assessment of skeletal bone mineral density using dental radiographs

ObjectivesTo systematically review the relationship between the fractal dimension (FD) on jaw bones and skeletal bone mineral density (BMD), focusing on the different methodologies and results in the existing literature.MethodsAn electronic literature search was performed to identify articles that evaluated the relationship between the mandibular and maxillary FD and BMD up to February 2014. After selecting the articles, a hierarchical clustering analysis was performed to verify the dissimilarity of the studies. The following variables were grouped into clusters, and assessed for reliability of the cluster distribution: kind of study, method for calculating FD, relationship between FD and low BMD, digital imaging, and kind of dental radiography. The relative frequencies of the categories of variables were calculated and compared.ResultsOnly 15 studies were selected and three clusters were obtained. Most articles were in the third cluster, and primarily consisted of clinical studies that used the box-counting method to calculate FD on panoramic radiographs. A significant association was found for the variable relationship between FD and low BMD and the clusters. Most of the clinical studies were performed on trabecular bone, but three studies found differences in FD between individuals with normal mandibular cortex and individuals with cortical porosity.ConclusionsThe kind of study, method for calculating FD, relationship between FD and low BMD, and imaging modality should be better standardized to minimize the controversies found in published studies. The performance of FD on the cortical and trabecular bone for osteoporosis screening deserves further investigation.