Immunophenotyping for Diagnosis of Oral Lesions: Is It an Important Tool?

Abstract

Aims: To report two cases of onco-hematologic diseases diagnosed by oral biopsy and subsequent flow cytometry immunophenotyping. Presentation of Case: Case 1: A 36-year-old woman, HIV +, referred to the Hospital Dentistry Center presenting an extensive, ulcerated and painless lesion in the left maxilla involving teeth #24, #25, #26 and #27. A fine needle aspiration and incisional biopsy were performed and one sample was sent to anatomopathological analysis and other to immunophenotyping. Immunophenotyping revealed 31.2% of aberrant plasma cells with phenotype suggestive of plasmablastic lymphoma. Case 2: 62-year-old male patient attended Hospital Emergency presenting extra and intraoral swelling on the left side of maxilla. Fine needle aspiration and incisional biopsy were performed, followed by pathological analysis and immunophenotyping. Immunophenotyping revealed 40.7% of large mature B cells with phenotype suggestive of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Both patients presented histopathological and immunophenotyping results leading to the same diagnosis. After definitive diagnosis, both patients underwent antineoplastic treatment through cycle of chemotherapy. Conclusion: Immunophenotyping is a well-established method for the diagnosis of onco-hematologic diseases and has been shown to be effective for the rapid diagnosis of oral tumors.