TO INVESTIGATE THE PRESENCE OF MAST CELLS IN BENIGN ORAL NEURAL LESIONS

Objective: Benign neural lesions are rare diseases especially in the oral cavity. These lesions are associated with the peripheral nerves which are mainly composed of Schwann cells. The mast cells are important in benign neural tumors, and according to the lesion, they can be scarce or abundant. One way to identify mast cells is by using histochemical techniques such as toluidine blue dye. The aim of this study was to identify the presence of mast in benign neural lesions diagnosed by the pathology laboratory. Methodology: This is a descriptive and observational pilot study. Four cases of benign neural cases were microscopically evaluated with hematoxylin-eosin and blue toluidine; these include palisaded encapsulated neuroma, schwannoma, traumatic neuroma, and neurofibroma. Results: Intralesional and perilesional mast cells were found in palisaded encapsulated neuroma. The mast cells were more intralesional and associated with an inflammatory infiltrate focus in schwannomas and neurofibromas. In traumatic neuroma, the mast cells were in the connective tissue near the blood vessels. Conclusion: It is important to do a quantitative analysis of mast cells as part of the histopathological diagnosis in an effort to better understand these oral lesions.