Malakoplakia of the thyroid gland: a case report and review of literature.

Malakoplakia is a rare granulomatous disease that most commonly occurs in the urinary tract. It is characterized by sheets of histiocytes with granular basophilic inclusions and Michaelis-Gutmann bodies. We present an exceedingly rare case of malakoplakia of the thyroid in a 54-year-old Caucasian woman on immunosuppressive therapy for renal transplant performed in 1994.

Opportunities and challenges facing biomarker development for personalized head and neck cancer treatment.

Head and neck oncologists have traditionally relied on clinical tumor features and patient characteristics to guide care of individual patients. As surgical, radiotherapeutic, and systemic treatments have evolved to become more anatomically precise and mechanistically specific, the opportunity for improved cure and functional patient recovery has never been more promising for this historically debilitating cancer. However, personalized treatment must be accompanied by sophisticated patient selection to triage the application of advanced therapies toward ideal patient candidates.

Prognostic implication of sentinel lymph node biopsy in cutaneous head and neck melanoma.

Background: Current therapy for intermediate thickness melanoma involves wide local excision with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). SLNB provides important prognostic information and immediate regional lymphadenectomy for a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) may improve survival and identifies patients who are candidates for adjuvant therapy and/or clinical trials. The head and neck site is unique because of its complex lymphatic drainage pattern to multiple nodal basins and because of the risk of site-specific morbidity associated with regional lymphadenectomy when compared to other body sites.

In vivo and in vitro models of ionizing radiation to the vocal folds.

Background: Radiation therapy (RT) to the head and neck often results in damage to the vocal folds (VF) and surrounding structures. Characterization and treatment of these sequelae is limited, likely due to the lack of experimental models.

Methods: Larynges from rats exposed to 2 fractionation schedules (40 Gy total) were analyzed histologically.

A model for 532-nanometer pulsed potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser-induced injury in the rat larynx.

Objectives/hypothesis: The potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser is emerging as a potentially effective treatment for various vocal fold pathologies. To date, the precise mechanism(s) of action of this wavelength on the layered microarchitecture of the vocal fold remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to develop an in vivo model for the use of the KTP laser in the rat vocal fold and to characterize the potential of this model for future studies.

Cigarette smoke and reactive oxygen species metabolism: implications for the pathophysiology of Reinke's edema.

Objective/hypothesis: Oxidative damage mediates the lower airway response to cigarette smoke (CS). In the vocal folds, the tissue phenotype is both distinct and largely uncharacterized. We sought to investigate the effects of CS on the oxidative status and fibroblast phenotype in the vocal folds.

Effects of transforming growth factor-beta1 on human vocal fold fibroblasts.

Objectives: We studied the effect of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta on immortalized human vocal fold fibroblasts.

Methods: Normal human vocal fold fibroblasts were subjected to sequential lentiviral transduction with genes for human telomerase (hTERT) and SV40 large T antigen in order to produce an "immortalized" cell line of normal phenotype. After confirmation of vocal fold fibroblast transfection, these cells, referred to as HVOX, were treated with various concentrations of exogenous TGF-beta1 and assayed for collagen secretion, migration, and proliferation.

Incidence of alarplasty in primary and revision rhinoplasty in a private practice setting.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of alarplasty in primary and revision rhinoplasty during a 3-year period.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective medical record review of patients undergoing primary and revision rhinoplasty between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2006. Patients were divided into the following categories: primary or revision rhinoplasty, alarplasty, and ethnicity.

Patterns of expression of cell cycle/apoptosis genes along the spectrum of thyroid carcinoma progression.

Background: Genetic screening studies suggest that genetic changes underlie progression from well differentiated to anaplastic thyroid cancers. The aim of this study is to determine to what extent cell cycle/apoptosis regulators contribute to cancer progression.

Methods: Tissue microarrarys (TMAs) were constructed from well-differentiated papillary thyroid carcinoma (WDPTC; n = 41), poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma (PDTC; n = 43), and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC; n = 22).

Recurrent oral herpes simplex virus infection presenting as a tongue mass.

Reactivation of herpes simplex virus resulting in oral infection is common after cardiac transplantation and usually occurs within the first month posttransplant. The clinical presentation, however, may be atypical. We present a case of a 48-year-old female who presented with a large tongue mass 1 year after cardiac transplantation.