Clinicopathological analysis of oral-cavity B-cell neoplasms: Comparison between non-immunosuppressive and...

No comparative analysis of the infrequently occurring B-cell neoplasms (BCNs) in the oral cavity has yet been reported in patients with non-immunosuppressiveness or immunosuppressiveness. To identify any differences in clinicopathological findings between patients with non-immunosuppressiveness and those with immunosuppressiveness, we compared the clinicopathological characteristics of oral-cavity BCNs in these patient groups. The clinical characteristics of 39 patients were analyzed from hospital records, including 24 with non-immunosuppressiveness and 15 with immunosuppressiveness. Histological and immunohistochemical evaluation was performed using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Comparisons between the two groups were conducted using cross-tabulations and the chi-squared or Fisher exact test. In patients with non-immunosuppressiveness, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was the most common type (14/24, 58%), followed by mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALT-L, 4/24, 17%). In patients with immunosuppressiveness, EBV-positive mucocutaneous ulcers (EBV-MCU) were the most common type (9/15, 60%), followed by DLBCL (3/15, 20%) and polymorphic/lymphoplasmacytic infiltration (3/15, 20%). Macroscopic findings showed 21 masses (88%) and 3 ulcers (13%) in patients with non-immunosuppressiveness and 11 ulcers (73%) and 4 masses (27%) in patients with immunosuppressiveness. Immunohistochemistry revealed that BCNs in patients with non-immunosuppressiveness expressed EBER in only 1 case (1/22, 5%), whereas those in patients with immunosuppressiveness expressed EBER in all cases (15/15, 100%). Our macroscopic findings and EBV status allowed us to distinguish BCNs between patients with non-immunosuppressiveness and those with immunosuppressiveness.