Oral mucoceles: a clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemical study

The aim of study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features of oral mucoceles and the immunohistochemical expression of cellular and extracellular matrix components in these lesions. One hundred cases of oral mucoceles were examined for clinicopathological features. The expression of mast cell tryptase, CD68, MMP-1 (matrix metalloproteinase-1), MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9) and CD34 was investigated immunohistochemically in 32 cases. The lesions arose as nodules or blisters of variable color. The mean age was 23.2 years and a higher male frequency was observed. The most common locations were the lower lip (92%), followed by the floor of the mouth (7%), and palate (1%). The lesion size ranged from 0.4 to 3.0cm. Unusual histopathological findings as superficial mucoceles (n=16, 16%), pseudopapillary projections (n=3, 3%), epithelioid histiocytes (n=4, 4%), multinucleated giant cells (n=1, 1%) and myxoglobulosis (n=9, 9%) were also seen. Mast cells and CD68-positive macrophages, MMP-1, MMP-9 and CD34-positive blood vessels were seen in all cases. A significant association was seen between mast cells and MMP-1 (p=0.03) and between macrophages and MMP-1 (p=0.01). This study provided important insight into the demographic and histopathological occurrence of oral mucoceles. The tissue remodeling seen in these lesions mainly involved the migration and interaction of mast cells, macrophages and MMP-1.