A prospective longitudinal study on endocrine dysfunction following treatment of laryngeal or hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objectives: The incidences of hypo(para)thyroidism were assessed prospectively in 137 consecutive patients with laryngeal (84.7%) or hypopharyngeal (15.3%) carcinoma who were treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy between 2004 and 2006.

Correlation of immunohistochemical staining p63 and TTF-1 with EGFR and K-ras mutational spectrum and diagnostic reproducibility in non small cell lung carcinoma.

For treatment purposes, distinction between squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma is important. The aim of this study is to examine the diagnostic accuracy on lung cancer small biopsies for the distinction between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma and relate these to immunohistochemical and KRAS and EGFR mutation analysis. An interobserver study was performed on 110 prospectively collected biopsies obtained by bronchoscopy or transthoracic needle biopsy of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Outcome of patients with early stage oral cancer managed by an observation strategy towards the N0 neck using ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology: No survival difference as compared to elective neck dissection.

Objectives: Management of the clinically N0 neck in oral cancer patients remains controversial. We describe the outcome of patients with T1-T2 oral cancer and N0 neck based on ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology (USgFNAC) who were treated by transoral excision and followed by a 'wait and scan' policy (W&S).

Patients And Methods: This retrospective analysis included 285 consecutive patients of whom 234 were followed by W&S and 51 underwent elective neck dissection (END).

Reproducibility of histopathological subtypes and invasion in pulmonary adenocarcinoma. An international interobserver study.

Histological subtyping of pulmonary adenocarcinoma has recently been updated based on predominant pattern, but data on reproducibility are required for validation. This study first assesses reproducibility in subtyping adenocarcinomas and then assesses further the distinction between invasive and non-invasive (wholly lepidic) pattern of adenocarcinoma, among an international group of pulmonary pathologists. Two ring studies were performed using a micro-photographic image-based method, evaluating selected images of lung adenocarcinoma histologic patterns.

Frequency of lower respiratory tract infections in relation to adaptive immunity in children with Down syndrome compared to their healthy siblings.

Aim: Children with Down syndrome (DS) experience respiratory tract infections (RTIs) more frequently than healthy children. We investigated whether this is related to different immunological characteristics associated with DS.

Methods: The study group consisted of 22 children with DS and 22 of their healthy, age-range matched siblings.

Prospective effects of hearing status on loneliness and depression in older persons: identification of subgroups.

Objective: To determine the possible longitudinal relationships between hearing status and depression, and hearing status and loneliness in the older population.

Design: Multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the associations between baseline hearing and 4-year follow-up of depression, social loneliness, and emotional loneliness. Hearing was measured both by self-report and a speech-in-noise test.

Hyperosmolarity and hypoxia induce chondrogenesis of adipose-derived stem cells in a collagen type 2 hydrogel.

Apart from soluble growth factors, various other biophysicochemical cues are known to promote chondrogenesis. Under physiological conditions, cartilage in the joint comprises a hyperosmotic and hypoxic environment. Therefore, in this study, we examined the inductive effects of hyperosmotic and/or hypoxic conditions on adipose stem cells (ASCs) and compared them with conventional TGFβ1-induction.

Artificial neural network analysis to assess hypernasality in patients treated for oral or oropharyngeal cancer.

Objective: Investigation of applicability of neural network feature analysis of nasalance in speech to assess hypernasality in speech of patients treated for oral or oropharyngeal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Speech recordings of 51 patients and of 18 control speakers were evaluated regarding hypernasality, articulation, intelligibility, and patient-reported speech outcome. Feature analysis of nasalance was performed on /a/, /i/, and /u/ and on the entire stretch of speech.

Long-term efficacy of voice therapy in patients with voice problems after treatment of early glottic cancer.

Objective: The purpose of the present pilot study is to investigate whether the beneficial short-term effects of voice therapy in patients with voice problems after treatment of early glottic cancer as reported in our earlier study remain present on the long term.

Study Design: In this prospective study, 12 patients, selected based on a screening questionnaire about voice problems and randomly assigned for treatment with voice therapy (vs no treatment), were evaluated with a mean of 13 months after finishing voice therapy to evaluate the long-term voice effects.

Methods: Voice assessment consisted of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and acoustic analyses (percent jitter, percent shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio).

Does glucose variability influence the relationship between mean plasma glucose and HbA1c levels in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients?

Objective: The A1C-Derived Average Glucose (ADAG) study demonstrated a linear relationship between HbA(1c) and mean plasma glucose (MPG). As glucose variability (GV) may contribute to glycation, we examined the association of several glucose variability indices and the MPG-HbA(1c) relationship.

Research Design And Methods: Analyses included 268 patients with type 1 diabetes and 159 with type 2 diabetes.

Nephrotic syndrome in The Netherlands: a population-based cohort study and a review of the literature.

Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a clinical diagnosis with proteinuria, hypoalbuminaemia and oedema. NS is rare in children, and its incidence in The Netherlands is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of idiopathic NS in the Netherlands.

Prognostic significance of truncating TP53 mutations in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: TP53 is a key gene in cellular homeostasis and is frequently mutated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). There is a variety of TP53 mutations, each with its own biological and clinical implication. Aim of the study was to assess the prognostic significance of TP53 mutations in HNSCCs and to identify the most relevant mutation.

Evaluation of Cladribine treatment in refractory celiac disease type II.

Aim: To evaluate cladribine [2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA)] therapy in refractory celiac disease (RCD) II.

Methods: An open-label cohort-study of RCD II patients treated with 2-CdA was performed between 2000 and 2010. Survival rate, enteropathy associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) occurrence, clinical course, and histological and immunological response rates were evaluated.

Perioperative arginine-supplemented nutrition in malnourished patients with head and neck cancer improves long-term survival.

Background: Plasma arginine concentrations are lower in patients with cancer, which indicates that arginine metabolism may be disturbed in these patients. Arginine supplementation has been associated with positive effects on antitumor mechanisms and has been shown to reduce tumor growth and to prolong survival. Furthermore, the prognosis of patients with head and neck cancer remains disappointing.

Prolonged thioguanine therapy is well tolerated and safe in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

Background: Thioguanine has been used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, in particular for patients who failed conventional thiopurine therapy. To date, thioguanine has been infrequently studied in ulcerative colitis.

Aim: To evaluate the tolerability, safety and efficacy of thioguanine in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

Hypopharyngeal carcinoma after radiation for tuberculosis: radiation-induced carcinoma.

Radiation may cause radiation-induced cancers after a long latency period. In a group of 111 patients surgically treated for hypopharyngeal carcinoma, patients previously treated with radiotherapy for tuberculosis in the neck were compared to patients without previous radiotherapy. Seven patients (7.

Do consanguineous parents of a child affected by an autosomal recessive disease have more DNA identical-by-descent than similarly-related parents with healthy offspring? Design of a case-control study.

Background: The offspring of consanguineous relations have an increased risk of congenital/genetic disorders and early mortality. Consanguineous couples and their offspring account for approximately 10% of the global population. The increased risk for congenital/genetic disorders is most marked for autosomal recessive disorders and depends on the degree of relatedness of the parents.

Loss of heterozygosity at 9p and p53 immunopositivity in surgical margins predict local relapse in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

A major problem in head and neck cancer surgery is the high rate of local relapse (LR). In at least 25% of the surgically treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients, a genetically defined preneoplastic lesion, also known as "field," can be detected in the surgical margins. A remaining field may be an important cause for the development of LR.

Quality of life as predictor of survival: a prospective study on patients treated with combined surgery and radiotherapy for advanced oral and oropharyngeal cancer.

Background And Purpose: The relation between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and survival was investigated at baseline and 6 months in 80 patients with advanced oral or oropharyngeal cancer after microvascular reconstructive surgery and (almost all) adjuvant radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: Multivariate Cox regression analyses of overall and disease-specific survival were performed including sociodemographic (age, gender, marital status, comorbidity), and clinical (tumor stage and site, radical surgical, metastasis, radiotherapy) parameters, and HRQOL (EORTC QLQ-C30 global quality of life scale).

Results: Before treatment, younger age and having a partner were predictors of disease-specific survival; younger age predicted overall survival.

Evaluation of temporomandibular function after high partial condylectomy because of unilateral condylar hyperactivity.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess temporomandibular function after condylectomy because of unilateral condylar hyperactivity (UCH) by means of standardized diagnostic criteria. The results were compared with those obtained in a control group.

Patients And Methods: In this study, 33 patients with UCH who underwent condylectomy and 31 controls matched for age and gender filled out a history questionnaire and underwent a clinical examination as part of the research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders.

Differential Proteomics Identifies Protein Biomarkers That Predict Local Relapse of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.

PURPOSE: The 5-year survival rates of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) remain disappointing. HNSCCs develop in precursor fields of genetically altered cells that are often not completely resected when the tumor is excised, causing local relapse. These precursor fields are mostly recognized as dysplasia, but histologic grading cannot reliably predict malignant transformation.

A new graph and scoring system simplified analysis of changing states: disease remissions in a rheumatoid arthritis clinical trial.

Background: In the setting of multiple remission and relapse periods of a chronic disease, simple endpoint analysis does not fully capture all relevant information, and we need methods to additionally describe both the duration of remission as well as the interruptions in this desired state. Probably the two-state continuous Markov process model comprises the best mathematical approach to data analysis. However, this approach is complex and not intuitive to clinicians.

Paratracheal lymph node dissection does not negatively affect thyroid dysfunction in patients undergoing laryngectomy.

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of paratracheal lymph node dissection including hemithyroidectomy for the development of hypo(para)thyroidism. From 1990 to 2004, 169 patients with a carcinoma of the larynx or hypopharynx who underwent paratracheal lymph node dissection were selected. Data of 137 patients (23 women, 114 men) were analyzed.

Hearing status, need for recovery after work, and psychosocial work characteristics: results from an internet-based national survey on hearing.

The main aim of the study is to address the relationship between hearing status and need for recovery. In addition, the role of hearing status in the relationship between psychosocial work characteristics (i.e.