Chronic fatigue in long-term survivors of head and neck cancer treated with radiotherapy.

Background: There is lack of evidence on chronic fatigue (CF) following radiotherapy (RT) in survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC). We aimed to compare CF in HNC survivors > 5 years post-RT with a reference population and investigate factors associated with CF and the possible impact of CF on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Material And Methods: In this cross-sectional study we included HNC survivors treated in 2007-2013.

A comparison of the prevalence of dry mouth and other symptoms using two different versions of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System on an inpatient palliative care unit.

Background: Symptom assessment is key to effective symptom management and palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. Symptom prevalence and severity estimates vary widely, possibly dependent on the assessment tool used. Are symptoms specifically asked about or must the patients add them as additional symptoms? This study compared the prevalence and severity of patient-reported symptoms in two different versions of a multi-symptom assessment tool.

Long-term health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer survivors: A large multinational study.

Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients suffer from a range of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) issues, but little is known about their long-term HRQoL. This study explored associations between treatment group and HRQoL at least 5 years' post-diagnosis in HNC survivors. In an international cross-sectional study, HNC survivors completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life core questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and its HNC module (EORTC-QLQ-H&N35).

Radiation-induced long-term dysphagia in survivors of head and neck cancer and association with dose-volume parameters.

Background: Although dysphagia is a common side effect after radiotherapy (RT) of head and neck cancer (HNC), data on long-term dysphagia is scarce. We aimed to 1) compare radiation dose parameters in HNC survivors with and without dysphagia, 2) investigate factors associated with long-term dysphagia and its possible impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and 3) investigate how our data agree with existing NTCP models.

Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted in 2018-2020, included HNC survivors treated in 2007-2013.

Identification and susceptibility testing of oral candidiasis in advanced cancer patients.

Background: Patients with advanced cancer are prone to develop different opportunistic oral infection due to anti-cancer treatment or the malignancies themselves. Studies of oral fungal samples show an increased prevalence of non-Candida albicans species in mixed oral infections with Candida albicans. Non-C.

Serious Long-Term Effects of Head and Neck Cancer from the Survivors' Point of View.

The long-term problems of head and neck cancer survivors (HNCS) are not well known. In a cross-sectional international study aimed at exploring the long-term quality of life in this population, 1114 HNCS were asked to state their two most serious long-term effects. A clinician recorded the responses during face-to-face appointments.

Oral and dental late effects in long-term survivors of childhood embryonal brain tumors.

Purpose: To investigate oral and dental late effects in survivors of childhood brain tumors medulloblastoma (MB) and central nervous system supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (CNS-PNET).

Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed oral and dental late effects in MB/CNS-PNET survivors treated before 20 years of age, and with a minimum of 2 years since treatment. Participants went through an oral and radiographic examination.

Targeting a therapeutically relevant concentration of alendronate for in vitro studies on osteoblasts.

Objective: Bisphosphonates like alendronate mainly exert their effects on osteoclasts. However, osteoblasts are also affected, but exposed to a much lower concentration than the osteoclasts. Given that the effects are dose-dependent, the intention of the study was to identify a therapeutically relevant concentration of alendronate for studies on osteoblasts.

Taste and smell function in long-term survivors after childhood medulloblastoma/CNS-PNET.

Purpose: To investigate taste and smell function in survivors, with a minimum of 2 years since treatment of childhood medulloblastoma (MB)/central nervous system supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (CNS-PNET).

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 40 survivors treated ≤ 20 years of age. Taste strips with four concentrations of sweet, sour, salt, and bitter were used to assess taste function in all participants.

Proteomic Profiling of Saliva and Tears in Radiated Head and Neck Cancer Patients as Compared to Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Patients.

Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) and patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) may exhibit similar symptoms of dry mouth and dry eyes, as a result of radiotherapy (RT) or a consequence of disease progression. To identify the proteins that may serve as promising disease biomarkers, we analysed saliva and tears from 29 radiated HNC patients and 21 healthy controls, and saliva from 14 pSS patients by mass spectrometry-based proteomics. The study revealed several upregulated, and in some instances overlapping, proteins in the two patient groups.

Oral chronic GVHD after allogeneic stem cell transplantation without total body irradiation performed at a young age.

Purpose: Long-term survivors (LTSs) of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) may experience oral long-term effects like chronic graft-versus-host disease (oral cGVHD). The aim of this study was to investigate oral cGVHD in patients treated at a young age (< 30 years) more than 5 years after allo-HCT without total body irradiation (TBI).

Methods: All 94 participants went through a semi-structured interview, and an oral examination.

Alterations in meibomian glands in patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Patients undergoing intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for head and neck cancer may have increased incidence of dry eye disease and the exact mechanism is unclear. The present study aims to assess tear film and meibomian gland (MG) features in patients who received IMRT for head and neck cancer not involving the orbital area. Twenty-seven patients (64.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw among patients with cancer treated with denosumab or zoledronic acid: Results of a regulator-mandated cohort postauthorization safety study in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Background: Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is an adverse effect of antiresorptive treatment. This study estimated incidence proportions and incidence rates of ONJ in cancer patients with bone metastases from solid tumors treated for the prevention of skeletal-related events in routine clinical practice.

Methods: This cohort study in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in 2011-2018 included 3 treatment cohorts: a denosumab inception cohort (DEIC), a zoledronic acid inception cohort (ZAIC), and a denosumab-switch cohort (DESC).

Methodological approach for determining the Minimal Important Difference and Minimal Important Change scores for the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Head and Neck Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-HN43) exemplified by the Swallowing scale.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore what methods should be used to determine the minimal important difference (MID) and minimal important change (MIC) in scores for the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Head and Neck Cancer Module, the EORTC QLQ-HN43.

Methods: In an international multi-centre study, patients with head and neck cancer completed the EORTC QLQ-HN43 before the onset of treatment (t1), three months after baseline (t2), and six months after baseline (t3). The methods explored for determining the MID were: (1) group comparisons based on performance status; (2) 0.

Oral and ocular late effects in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy.

A broader understanding of oral and ocular late effects in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients who underwent intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) may provide valuable information in follow-up and improve quality of life. Twenty-nine HNC patients treated at least 6 months earlier and 30 age-matched controls were recruited. After completing several questionnaires: Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), Shortened Xerostomia Inventory (SXI), Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and McMonnies Dry Eye questionnaire (MDEQ), participants underwent oral and ocular examinations.

A mouth rinse based on a tea solution of Salvia officinalis for oral discomfort in palliative cancer care: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Few clinical studies evaluate interventions to reduce oral discomfort among patients in palliative care.

Aim: This study examines the efficacy of a Salvia officinalis (SO) based herbal mouth rinse compared to conventional normal saline (NS) in order to improve oral health.

Design: A block-randomized controlled trial.

Alendronate and omeprazole in combination reduce angiogenic and growth signals from osteoblasts.

Objective: Due to gastrointestinal side effects of oral bisphosphonates (BPs), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are often prescribed. PPIs may enhance the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw, a rare side effect of BPs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the oral BP alendronate (ALN) and the PPI omeprazole (OME) alone and in combination on primary human osteoblasts and gingival fibroblasts in vitro.

Cytokines Explored in Saliva and Tears from Radiated Cancer Patients Correlate with Clinical Manifestations, Influencing Important Immunoregulatory Cellular Pathways.

Although radiotherapy is a common form of treatment for head and neck cancer, it may lead to tissue damage in the salivary and lacrimal glands, possibly affecting cytokine expression in the gland fluid of treated individuals. Cytokine profiles in saliva and tear fluid of 29 radiated head and neck cancer patients and 20 controls were screened using a multiplex assay. Correlations between cytokine expression and clinical oral and ocular manifestations were examined, and cellular pathways influenced by these cytokines were assessed using the Functional Enrichment Analysis Tool.

Elevated cytokine levels in tears and saliva of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome correlate with clinical ocular and oral manifestations.

Investigating cytokines in tear fluid and saliva may offer valuable information for understanding the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Cytokine profiles in both tear fluid and saliva of pSS patients, non-Sjögren's syndrome (non-SS) subjects with sicca symptoms, and healthy controls without sicca complaints were analysed. Furthermore, relationships associating the severity of clinical ocular and oral manifestations with the upregulated cytokines were assessed.

Distorted Taste and Impaired Oral Health in Patients with Sicca Complaints.

Senses of smell and taste, saliva flow, and dental status are considered as important factors for the maintenance of a good nutritional status. Salivary secretory rates, chemosensory function, burning mouth sensation, halitosis and dental status were investigated in 58 primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients, 22 non-Sjögren's syndrome sicca (non-SS) patients, and 57 age-matched healthy controls. A significantly greater proportion of pSS and non-SS patients had ageusia, dysgeusia, burning mouth sensation, and halitosis compared to controls.

Prevention and treatment of trismus in head and neck cancer: A case report and a systematic review of the literature.

Introduction Trismus, or limited mouth opening, is a well-known complication of head and neck cancer and its treatment. It may be caused by tumour infiltration into the masticatory muscles or by treatment like surgery and radiotherapy. A limited mouth opening may have a negative effect on nutrition, phonation, dental hygiene and treatment, and quality of life.

Interdisciplinary, Comprehensive Oral and Ocular Evaluation of Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

A comprehensive evaluation of oral and ocular symptoms and findings in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients may provide valuable information for management. Medical history was obtained from female pSS patients, and sex- and age-matched non-SS patients with sicca symptoms (non-SS sicca controls) as well as healthy subjects without sicca complaints (healthy controls). Oral (Summated Xerostomia Inventory, SXI) and ocular (McMonnies Dry Eye questionnaire, MDEIS, and Ocular Surface Disease Index, OSDI) subjective complaints were recorded.