Context-Dependent Regulation of Peripheral Nerve Abundance by the PI3K Pathway in the Tumor Microenvironment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Recent studies have highlighted neurons and their associated Schwann cells (SCs) as key regulators of cancer development. However, the mode of their interaction with tumor cells or other components of the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains elusive. We established an SC-related 43-gene set as a surrogate for peripheral nerves in the TME.

[Acceptance of digital apps in the follow-up of patients with head and neck tumors].

Background: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures lead to improved quality of life in cancer patients and possibly to earlier detection of tumor recurrence.

Objective: Patient interest in complementing tumor follow-up care with apps for recording PROs was assessed using a questionnaire.

Materials And Methods: An independently created questionnaire to record the interest of tumor patients in a digitalized form of tumor follow-up care was evaluated (n = 110).

Indications for Submandibulectomy Within a 20-Year Period.

Different pathologies of the submandibular gland are an indication of submandibular gland excision-ranging from inflammatory causes and sialolithiasis to malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to get an overview of the different indications for submandibular gland excision. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the different indications for submandibular gland excision during a 20-year period.

Establishment of a Machine Learning Model for the Risk Assessment of Perineural Invasion in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Perineural invasion is a prevalent pathological finding in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and a risk factor for unfavorable survival. An adequate diagnosis of perineural invasion by pathologic examination is limited due to the availability of tumor samples from surgical resection, which can arise in cases of definitive nonsurgical treatment. To address this medical need, we established a random forest prediction model for the risk assessment of perineural invasion, including occult perineural invasion, and characterized distinct cellular and molecular features based on our new and extended classification.

A Novel Subgroup of UCHL1-Related Cancers Is Associated with Genomic Instability and Sensitivity to DNA-Damaging Treatment.

Purpose: Identification of molecularly-defined cancer subgroups and targeting tumor-specific vulnerabilities have a strong potential to improve treatment response and patient outcomes but remain an unmet challenge of high clinical relevance, especially in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC).

Experimental Design: We established a UCHL1-related gene set to identify and molecularly characterize a UCHL1-related subgroup within TCGA-HNSC by integrative analysis of multi-omics data. An extreme gradient boosting model was trained on TCGA-HNSC based on GSVA scores for gene sets of the MSigDB to robustly predict UCHL1-related cancers in other solid tumors and cancer cell lines derived thereof.