Comparison of mast cells count in oral reactive lesions

The purposes of this study were a comparison of mast cells (MCs) count in oral soft-tissue reactive lesions showing different degrees of fibrosis, and also an evaluation of the correlation of mast cells counting with the score of inflammation. In this cross-sectional study, 40 samples, including irritation fibroma (IF), inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia (IFH), peripheral giant cell granuloma (PGCG), and peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) categories (10 for each), were selected. Five normal gingival tissues were considered as the control group. The number of MCs was counted in 5 HPF containing maximum counts for each deparaffinized section stained with toluidine blue. The degree of inflammation was also evaluated for each case. The data were analyzed statistically, and P values <0.05 were considered as significant. The numbers of MCs were found to be increased in reactive lesions compared to normal gingival tissues (P value <0.05). MC counts were significantly decreased in the PGCG group compared to the IFH and POF groups (P value <0.05). A significant correlation was obtained between inflammation score and MC count in the IF and PGCG groups. (P value <0.05) The findings of this study suggest that MCs may play some role in collagen synthesis and consequently in the variation of microscopic features of oral soft-tissue reactive lesions.