HPV-Associated Head and Neck Second Primary Tumors-A Case Series.

Background: There is limited understanding of head and neck second primary tumors (SPTs) in HPV-associated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Analogous to the concept of field cancerization of the upper airway known to contribute to the development of smoking-related head and neck SPTs, this case series reports four cases of HPV-associated SPTs.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of four patients diagnosed with HPV-associated oropharyngeal SCC who subsequently developed HPV-associated SPTs.

Applications of Synthetic Hybrid-Scale Fiber Matrix in Head and Neck Reconstruction: A Case Series.

Introduction: Patients with head and neck cancer often necessitate complex reconstructions, considering both functional and esthetic concerns. Reconstructions are further complicated by previous radiation therapy and patient co-morbidities, which impair wound healing. A recently introduced synthetic hybrid-scale fiber matrix has been shown to provide durable wound coverage and promote tissue healing as an alternative to traditional biologic allogenic and xenogenic skin substitutes.

Programmed death 1 (PD-1) and ligand (PD-L1) inhibitors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

Background: PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors have emerged as promising treatments for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in HNSCC. Outcomes: median overall survival (mOS), median progression-free survival (mPFS), Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs).

Outcomes for recurrent oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: We sought to determine overall survival (OS), prognostic factors, cost, and functional outcomes after surgery for locally recurrent oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 399 cases of locally recurrent OCSCC from 1997 to 2011, of which 259 patients were treated with salvage surgery. Survival and prognostic factors were evaluated using univariable and multivariable Cox regression, the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test.

Stress-Mediated Attenuation of Translation Undermines T-cell Activity in Cancer.

Unlabelled: Protein synthesis supports robust immune responses. Nutrient competition and global cell stressors in the tumor microenvironment (TME) may impact protein translation in T cells and antitumor immunity. Using human and mouse tumors, we demonstrated here that protein translation in T cells is repressed in solid tumors.

Definitive Radiotherapy Surgery for the Treatment of Verrucous Carcinoma of the Larynx: A National Cancer Database Study.

 Traditionally, larger lesions of laryngeal verrucous carcinoma are treated with surgical excision, with definitive radiotherapy generally reserved for smaller lesions. However, data utilizing modern databases is limited.  The authors sought to assess, utilizing the National Cancer Database, whether overall survival for patients with laryngeal verrucous carcinoma was equivalent when treated with definitive radiotherapy versus definitive surgery.

Systematic review of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the oropharynx.

Data describing features and management of oropharyngeal neuroendocrine carcinomas (NEC) remain sparse. A systematic review was performed. Patients were stratified by treatment modality and examined for disease progression and survival outcomes.

B cells imprint adoptively transferred CD8 T cells with enhanced tumor immunity.

Background: Adoptive T cell transfer (ACT) therapy improves outcomes in patients with advanced malignancies, yet many individuals relapse due to the infusion of T cells with poor function or persistence. Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists can invigorate antitumor T cell responses when administered directly to patients, but these responses often coincide with toxicities. We posited that TLR agonists could be repurposed ex vivo to condition T cells with remarkable potency in vivo, circumventing TLR-related toxicity.

Neoadjuvant presurgical PD-1 inhibition in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) is a prevalent surgically treated subset of head and neck cancer with frequent recurrence and poor survival. Immunotherapy has demonstrated efficacy in recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer. However, whether antitumor responses could be fostered by neoadjuvant presurgical immunotherapy remains unclear.

Response and recurrence correlates in individuals treated with neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy for resectable oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade may be efficacious in some individuals with high-risk, resectable oral cavity head and neck cancer. To explore correlates of response patterns to neoadjuvant nivolumab treatment and post-surgical recurrences, we analyzed longitudinal tumor and blood samples in a cohort of 12 individuals displaying 33% responsiveness. Pretreatment tumor-based detection of mutations and signature enrichment favors response, and high tumor mutational burden improves recurrence-free survival.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Background: Results of early trials led to FDA approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for advanced and recurrent/metastatic (R/M) cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). Updated data from these trials are pending and extent of survival outcomes is undetermined.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of ICIs in advanced CSCC, comprising locally advanced (LA), locoregionally advanced (LR), and recurrent or metastatic (R/M) disease.

Modeling tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte expansion from established solid malignancies.

Adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) elicits the regression of metastatic malignancies, yet a low proportion of patients achieve complete durable responses. The high incidence of relapse in these patients highlights the need to better understand mechanisms of tumor escape from T cell control. While melanoma has provided the foundation for developing TIL therapy, much less is known about TIL efficacy and relapse in other malignancies.

Development and Evaluation of a Navigation-Based, Multilevel Intervention to Improve the Delivery of Timely, Guideline-Adherent Adjuvant Therapy for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Purpose: More than half of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) experience a delay initiating guideline-adherent postoperative radiation therapy (PORT), contributing to excess mortality and racial disparities in survival. However, interventions to improve the delivery of timely, equitable PORT among patients with HNSCC are lacking. This study (1) describes the development of NDURE (Navigation for Disparities and Untimely Radiation thErapy), a navigation-based multilevel intervention (MLI) to improve guideline-adherent PORT and (2) evaluates its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy.

Microscopic Extranodal Extension in HPV-Negative Head and Neck Cancer and the Role of Adjuvant Chemoradiation.

Objective: Pathologic extranodal extension (ENE) is an important adverse feature for human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but the prognostic significance of microscopic ENE (ENE) and role of adjuvant concurrent chemoradiation (CRT) for ENE remain unclear. This study evaluates (1) the prognostic significance of ENE in HPV-negative HNSCC and (2) whether adjuvant CRT is associated with improved overall survival (OS) for these patients.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Barriers to the Delivery of Timely, Guideline-Adherent Adjuvant Therapy Among Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Purpose: Delays initiating guideline-adherent postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are common, contribute to excess mortality, and are a modifiable target for improving survival. However, the barriers that prevent the delivery of timely, guideline-adherent PORT remain unknown. This study aims to identify the multilevel barriers to timely, guideline-adherent PORT and organize them into a conceptual model.

Functionally impactful TP53 mutations are associated with increased risk of extranodal extension in clinically advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The treatment of advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a clinical challenge because it is unclear which therapeutic approaches are the best for this highly heterogeneous group of patients. Because TP53 mutations are the most common genetic event in these tumors, the authors investigated whether they could represent an ancillary biomarker in the management of advanced OSCC.

Methods: The TP53 gene was sequenced in 78 samples from patients with advanced OSCC who received treatment at 2 institutions located in the United States and Brazil.

Evaluating Adjuvant Therapy With Chemoradiation vs Radiation Alone for Patients With HPV-Negative N2a Head and Neck Cancer.

Importance: The American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system (Cancer Staging Manual, 8th Edition) for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) now categorizes human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative HNSCC in a single positive lymph node smaller than 3 cm with pathologic extranodal extension (ENE) as N2a. The standard of care for pathologic ENE is adjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Whether adding chemotherapy concurrent with adjuvant radiation therapy improves survival in this clinical scenario is unknown.

The Evolution of Care of Cancers of the Head and Neck Region: State of the Science in 2020.

Cancers that arise in the head and neck region are comprised of a heterogeneous group of malignancies that include carcinogen- and human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven mucosal squamous cell carcinoma as well as skin cancers such as cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma. These malignancies develop in critical areas for eating, talking, and breathing and are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality despite advances in treatment. Understanding of advances in the management of these various cancers is important for all multidisciplinary providers who care for patients across the cancer care continuum.

Ex vivo blockade of PI3K gamma or delta signaling enhances the antitumor potency of adoptively transferred CD8 T cells.

Adoptive T cell transfer therapy induces objective responses in patients with advanced malignancies. Despite these results, some individuals do not respond due to the generation of terminally differentiated T cells during the expansion protocol. As the gamma and delta catalytic subunits in the PI3K pathway are abundant in leukocytes and involved in cell activation, we posited that blocking both subunits ex vivo with the inhibitor IPI-145 would prevent their differentiation, thereby increasing antitumor activity in vivo.

Incidence and survival trends of parotid malignancies over 42 years.

Background: There is a paucity of information regarding the incidence and survival of parotid malignancies over time.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results population-based cancer registry was queried for parotid malignancies from 1973 to 2015.

Results: The age-adjusted incidence of parotid malignancies has increased by 58.

Immunological effects of nivolumab immunotherapy in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Although checkpoint blockades have become widely used, the immunological impact in cancer patients, especially those with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC), has not been well studied.

Methods: The present study assessed the immunological impact of anti-PD-1 (nivolumab) treatment in 10 patients with OCSCC. This involved phenotypic analyses of peripheral blood T-cell subpopulations and their expression of immune mediators prior to and following nivolumab treatment.

Temporal Trajectory of Body Image Disturbance in Patients with Surgically Treated Head and Neck Cancer.

Objectives: To characterize the temporal trajectory of body image disturbance (BID) in patients with surgically treated head and neck cancer (HNC).

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma: A review of incidence, demographics, risk factors, and survival.

Purpose: Identify variables that are independent predictors of survival in carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CXPA) of the major salivary glands using a population-based database and evaluate the incidence and management strategies for this rare malignancy.

Materials And Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was queried for all cases of major salivary gland CXPA from 1973 to 2015.

Results: Of the 619 patients identified, the parotid gland was the most common site of involvement (76.

Salivary Carcinosarcoma: An Extremely Rare and Highly Aggressive Malignancy.

Objectives/hypothesis: Carcinosarcomas represent a rare entity of mixed malignant tumors of the salivary gland with limited evidence regarding management strategies. We aim to demonstrate the incidence, prognostic factors, and conduct a survival analysis for this aggressive malignancy.

Study Design: Retrospective database review.

Immune Evasion by Head and Neck Cancer: Foundations for Combination Therapy.

Head and neck cancer is disfiguring and deadly, and contemporary treatment has fallen short in terms of morbidity and mortality. The rich immune infiltrate within these tumors designates them as prime candidates for immunotherapy and success with these drugs has been documented for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer. Still, single-agent immunotherapy has generated either only transient responses or durable response in only a minority subset of patients.