Disease Management DentistryOral Pathology
Researching actual diseases, pathology is amongst the most basic medical sciences. The oral and maxillofacial region is formed by many soft and hard tissues. Oral pathology is a field that aims to understand the basics and uncover the still unknown processes of various diseases including the site-specific lesions. To fulfil this objective, we, in oral pathology, focus on education in the form of lectures and practical training while at the same time performing histopathological diagnosis as a hospital. We also conduct diverse analytical research (please consult "Odontogenic Tumor", "Oral Cancer" and "Regeneration and Biomaterials" sections below).
Odontogenic Tumor
Odontogenic tumor originates from tooth forming cells in the jawbone area. Young people are prone to this tumor as it is closely related to teeth development. Many various molecules are assumed to be involved in the onset of odontogenic tumor and its development process inside the bones. In this field we focus on molecules supressing cell death, cell proliferation inducing molecules, molecules that regulate the development of teeth and molecules that control the resorption of bones. As a result we have discovered that molecules which prevent cell degradation, thus immortalizing them and molecules involved with stem cells forming the teeth, which also affect the onset and progress of odontogenic tumor. From now on we are planning on not only working on understanding, but also on applying our research to prognosis and new treatments of this tumor.
Oral Cancer
Accounted for 2% of total malignant tumors in Japanese patients, oral cancer originates in oral mucosa and is still thought to increase in the following years. Oral cancer is known to be followed by many precancerous lesions in its sites of predilection – tongue or gingiva. In this field we stress on the importance of malignant lesion diagnosis. We have also discovered that the abnormality of p53 tumor suppressor gene, caused by smoking and alcohol consumption, and infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) is closely related to the onset of this cancer. While the usual five-year survival rate for oral cancer is 40-60%, if detected early it rises to as high as 80-90%. Collaborating with many other departments, we focus on investigating methods for early detection of this cancer.
Regeneration and Biomaterials
We investigate the application of various biomaterials to regeneration of lost body parts. Bioabsorbable metallic materials dissolve in vivo despite being metals and are not absorbed after the body uses them. Using these materials eases the burden of many patients as their special properties eliminate the need of their mechanical removal. In addition, the possibility of inducing bone formation by employing the decomposition process of some particular composition alloys is garnering attention not only in dentistry, but in many other fields of medicine as well. We are also working on developing ceramic materials to replace bones and to have DDS function, thus having materials to open doors for new possibilities of regenerative pathology.
Staff
-
Prof. Hiroyuki Kumamoto,
Topics of Research
- Molecular pathology of lesions of the jaws
- Clinicopathological and genetic studies of developmental abnormalities of the teeth
- Clinicopathological and immunohistochemical studies of the oral immune diseases and cancer
- Analysis of oral and maxillofacial region's functional disorder
- Investigation on regeneration of the oral and maxillofacial tissues and application of biomaterials
Recent Publications
- Fukuda T, Kino Y, Abe Y, Yamashiro H, Kobayashi J, Shimizu Y, Takahashi A, Suzuki T, Chiba M, Takahashi S, Inoue K, Kuwahara Y, Morimoto M, Shinoda H, Hiji M, Sekine T, Fukumoto M, Isogai E: Cesium radioactivity in peripheral blood is linearly correlated to that in skeletal muscle: analyses of cattle within the evacuation zone of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Anim Sci J 86:120-4,2015.
- Okada M, Oikawa M, Miki Y, Shimizu Y, Echigo S, Takahashi T, Kumamoto H: Immunohistochemical assessment of ATG7, LC3, and p62 in ameloblastomas. J Oral Pathol Med 43:606-12,2014.
- Fukumoto M, Amanuma T, Kuwahara Y, Shimura T, Suzuki M, Mori S, Kumamoto H, Sito Y, Ohkubo Y, Duan Z, Sano K, Oguchi T, Kainuma K, Usami S, Kinoshita K, Lee I, Fukumoto M: Guanine nucleotide-binding protein 1 is one of the key molecules contributing to can cell cell radioresistance. Cancer Sci 105:1351-9,2014.
- Yamauchi K, Nogami S, Tanaka K, Yokota S, Shimizu Y, Kanetaka H, Takahashi T: The effect of decortication for periosteal expansion osteogenesis using shape memory alloy mesh device. Clin Implant Dent Relat Res in press,2014.
- Kumamoto H: Molecular pathology associated with the development and progression of odontogenic tumors: recent aspects and application for diagnostic pathology. Pathology and Clnical Medicine 31:541-6,2013.
- Oikawa M, Miki Y, Shimizu Y, Kumamoto H: Assessment of protein expression and gene status of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family molecules in ameloblastomas. J Oral Pathol Med 42:424-34,2013.
- Zhang Y, Kanetaka H, Sano Y, Kano M, Kudo T, Sato T, Shimizu Y: Pressure controlled clamp using shape memory alloy for minimal vessel invasion in blood flow occlusion. Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 19:35-42,2013.
- Miyashita H, Mori S, Fukumoto M, Fukumoto Y, Kumamoto H, Takahashi T: Genetic analysis of the MEN1 and HRPT2 in jaw tumor and parathyroidadenoma associated with familial hyperparathyroidism. Tohoku Univ Dent J 31:52-8,2012.
- Ito S, Ishida E, Skalova A, Matsuura K, Kumamoto H, Sato I: Case report of mammary analog secretory carcinoma of the parotid gland. Pathol Int 62:149-52,2012.
- Kobayashi M, Miki Y, Ebina M, Abe K, Mori K, Narumi S, Suzuki T, Sato I, Maemondo M, Endo C, Inoue A, Kumamoto H, Kondo T, Yamada-Okabe H, Nukiwa T, Sasasno H: Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecules as surrogate markers for EGFR inhibitor sensitivity in human lung adenocarcinoma. Br J Cancer 107:1745-53,2012.