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Faizan Alawi

Publications and source records attributed to Faizan Alawi.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Management of a young patient with combined autoimmunity: Evans syndrome: a case report.

Management of patients with autoimmune disease can present a challenge for clinicians. Combinations of autoimmune disorders carry a worse prognosis and are often difficult to diagnose. Evans syndrome is a rare hematologic disorder characterized by the concurrent presentation of autoimmune hemolytic anemia and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. This paper reports the first case of the dental management of a young patient with Evans, discusses the current literature surrounding the differential diagnosis and treatment of Evans syndrome, and suggests a guide for the oral medicine, pediatric dentist, or hospital dental clinician when treating these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Identification of a gene signature for rapid screening of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Oral cancer is a major health problem worldwide and in the U.S. The 5-year survival rate for oral cancer has not improved significantly over the past 20 years and remains at approximately 50%. Patients diagnosed at an early stage of the disease typically have an 80% chance for cure and functional outcome, however, most patients are identified when the cancer is advanced. Thus, a convenient and an accurate way to detect oral cancer early will decrease patient morbidity and mortality. The ability to noninvasively monitor oral cancer onset, progression, and treatment outcomes requires two prerequisites: identification of specific biomarkers for oral cancers as well as noninvasive access to and monitoring of these biomarkers that could be conducted at the point of care (i.e., practitioner's or dentist's office) by minimally trained personnel. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Here, we show that DNA microarray gene expression profiling of matched tumor and normal specimens can identify distinct anatomic site expression patterns and a highly significant gene signature distinguishing normal from oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissue. RESULTS: Using a supervised learning algorithm, we generated a 25-gene signature for OSCC that can classify normal and OSCC specimens. This 25-gene molecular predictor was 96% accurate on cross-validation, averaging 87% accuracy using three independent validation test sets and failing to predict non-oral tumors. CONCLUSION: Identification and validation of this tissue-specific 25-gene molecular predictor in this report is our first step towards developing a new, noninvasive, microfluidic-based diagnostic technology for mass screening, diagnosis, and treatment of pre-OSCC and OSCC.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed2006

Bullous amyloidosis of the oral cavity: a rare clinical presentation and review.

Bullous amyloidosis (BA) is a rare cutaneous manifestation primarily of systemic amyloidosis, a disease in which abnormal proteinaceous material is formed and deposited in response to inflammatory conditions and plasma cell dyscrasias. Hemorrhagic bullae indicative of BA are usually associated with purpura and may be the initial clinical signs of systemic amyloidosis or monoclonal gammopathies, such as multiple myeloma and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. Bullous amyloidosis of the oral cavity is highly uncommon and can mimic other vesiculobullous lesions of the oral mucosa. This article highlights an unusual case of oral BA and reviews important aspects of the disease.

Amyloidosis↗
PubMed2006

Rosai-Dorfman disease of the mandible.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare, non-neoplastic histiocytosis most commonly characterized by painless, massive cervical lymphadenopathy. Over half of all patients with lymph node involvement also demonstrate extranodal disease, with most affected individuals exhibiting lesions within the region of the head and neck. Oral manifestations of RDD are extremely rare, and almost always identified in association with nodal or other extranodal disease. However, rare examples of extranodal RDD, including oral RDD, without clinical or radiographic evidence of concomitant lymph node involvement, have also been described. We report a rare case of solitary, extranodal RDD arising within the mandible in a pregnant woman. To our knowledge, this case represents only the fourth documented example of solitary oral RDD. A review of the clinical and histopathologic features associated with RDD is also presented.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Granulomatous diseases of the oral tissues: differential diagnosis and update.

Because of the relatively nonspecific clinical findings associated with a variety of granulomatous diseases, a microscopic diagnosis of granulomatous inflammation often presents a diagnostic dilemma for the clinician. The most common differential diagnosis includes foreign body reactions, infection, Crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, and orofacial granulomatosis. However, a variety of other conditions may be associated with granuloma formation. Often an extensive clinical, microscopic, and laboratory evaluation may be required to identify the source of the granulomatous inflammation. This article highlights the origin, clinical manifestations, current diagnostic modalities, and treatment of specific granulomatous diseases that may be encountered in clinical practice.

Crohn Disease↗
PubMed2005

Sebaceous carcinoma of the oral mucosa: case report and review of the literature.

Fordyce granules are found in the oral mucosa of up to 80% of adults. However, primary malignant sebaceous tumors of the oral mucosa are exceedingly rare. To our knowledge, only 5 examples of intraoral sebaceous carcinoma have been reported in the literature. This report describes a primary sebaceous carcinoma of the labial mucosa that arose in an area containing numerous Fordyce granules. A brief review of the clinical and histopathologic features of sebaceous carcinoma is also presented.

Adenocarcinoma, Sebaceous↗
PubMed2004

Sporadic sclerotic fibroma of the oral soft tissues.

Sclerotic fibroma (SF) is an uncommon, benign fibrous neoplasm that may present either as a sporadic, small, solitary cutaneous mass, in otherwise healthy individuals, or as solitary or multiple, discrete skin nodules in patients with Cowden syndrome. Oral SF has been reported in patients with Cowden syndrome; however we now report the first documented series of sporadic SF originating within the oral mucosa. We describe 5 cases of SF arising in 3 women and 2 men with an age range of 43 to 66 years. The buccal mucosa was the site of involvement in 4 patients and the lower lip in 1 patient. Microscopically, each of the tumors was characterized by an unencapsulated, well-circumscribed, hypocellular submucosal nodule that was sharply demarcated from the surrounding tissues. The neoplasms were primarily composed of thick collagen bundles that were occasionally arranged in a storiform pattern. Prominent clefts separated many of the collagen bundles. In all cases, spindle and stellate-shaped cells containing fusiform or stellate-shaped nuclei and inconspicuous nucleoli were found scattered throughout the lesion. Occasional stellate-shaped, multinucleated cells were also seen. Many of the cells also exhibited long dendritic cytoplasmic processes. The tumor cells strongly expressed CD34 and vimentin, and occasionally factor XIIIa, but were negative for markers of myofibroblastic, neural or melanocytic differentiation. These findings confirm that oral SF represents a unique entity and should be differentiated from more commonly occurring benign fibrous lesions of the oral soft tissues.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Epithelioid blue nevus of the oral mucosa: a rare histologic variant.

Epithelioid blue nevus (EBN) is an extremely rare histologic variant of blue nevus that has only recently been identified. Unlike other variants of blue nevus, which primarily are composed of pigmented, spindle-shaped melanocytes, EBN is characterized by large, well-defined, heavily-pigmented polygonal or epithelioid-shaped melanocytes intermixed with less densely pigmented epithelioid- and fusiform-shaped melanocytes. Furthermore, in contrast to other benign melanocytic proliferations, the lesional cells in EBN exhibit little or no maturation as they extend deeper into the underlying tissue. Blue nevi are the second most common form of nevus in the oral cavity. However, to our knowledge, the epithelioid variant has not been previously identified in the mouth. Only 6 examples of EBN have been identified in the skin of the head and neck. We now report the first documented case of EBN involving the oral mucosa. A brief review of the clinical and histopathologic features of EBN is also presented.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Benign fibro-osseous diseases of the maxillofacial bones. A review and differential diagnosis.

Benign fibro-osseous lesions (BFOLs) of the maxillofacial bones represent a diverse group of pathologic conditions that includes developmental lesions, reactive or dysplastic diseases, and neoplasms. Owing to substantial overlap of the histopathologic findings, subclassification of BFOLs may be problematic. Moreover, this is not merely an academic exercise because the therapeutic management of BFOLs varies depending on the actual disease process. To further complicate matters, a number of other disease processes demonstrate clinical, radiographic, and microscopic features that bear resemblance to those encountered in recognized fibro-osseous conditions. The objective of this article is to review the most current clinicopathologic, radiographic, and molecular studies of BFOLs to aid the surgical pathologist in the recognition and diagnosis of this diverse group of maxillofacial lesions. A discussion of the various disease processes that occasionally may be confused with BFOLs also is included.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Granulocytic sarcoma: an atypical presentation in the oral cavity.

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a hematologic disorder that is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of immature myeloid cells. Granulocytic sarcomas are clusters of leukemic myeloid cells that may develop as a result of AML. Oral manifestations of AML are common and often involve enlargements of the gingiva and/or mucosal tissue from direct leukemia cell infiltration. We describe the case history of a 50-year-old man who had an ulcerative lesion of the oral mucosa that was determined to be a granulocytic sarcoma of AML-MO subtype. The combination of both the subtype and clinical presentation of the leukemia makes this presentation unusual, and to the best of our knowledge, of a type that has not been previously reported in the literature.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma: a case report and review of the literature.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) as an indolent B-cell lymphoma. This disease involves a heterogeneous group of B-cell tumors that occurs primarily within the lymph nodes, spleen, or extranodal tissues. Initial MZL treatment consists of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and is associated with a high survival rate when detected early. This article highlights an unusual case of extranodal MZL in the parotid area.

Aged↗