Analysis of clinical and radiographic outcomes at least 5 years after coronectomy for deeply impacted mandibular third molars.

Objective: Coronectomy is an alternative to traditional mandibular third molar extraction when the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) is closely associated with the roots of these molars. Given the paucity of research on the long-term outcomes after coronectomy, we conducted this study to evaluate clinical and radiographic outcomes at least 5 years post-coronectomy.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled all patients with impacted mandibular third molars treated with coronectomy at our institution who were willing to return for follow-up evaluation 5 years or more after their original procedure.

The Prediction of Radiation-Induced Trismus by the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Values of Masseter Muscles before Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinomas.

Purpose: Although the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value from diffusion-weighted imaging can provide insights into various pathological processes, no studies have examined the relationship between the pre-concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) mean ADC (ADC) values of the masseter muscles and radiation-induced trismus (RIT) in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) patients. Therefore, the current research aimed to investigate the significance of pre-CCRT masseter muscle ADC values for predicting the RIT rates in LA-NPC patients treated with definitive CCRT.

Materials And Methods: The pre-CCRT ADC values of the masseter muscles and the post-CCRT RIT rates were evaluated.

Topkan's CARWL Index Efficiently Predicts the Radiation-Induced Tooth Loss Rates in Radically Treated Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patients.

Purpose: To assess the usefulness of the novel CARWL index in predicting radiation-induced tooth loss (RITL) rates in locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer (LA-NPC) patients undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (C-CRT).

Methods: The study retrospectively examined data from 323 LA-NPC patients. The patients were divided into two groups based on cutoff values for CAR and weight loss (WL).

The unique CARWL score stratifies locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy into risk groups for radiation-induced trismus.

Purpose: To determine the utility of the novel CARWL score, which integrates C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) and significant weight loss (SWL), in stratifying the locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) patients into significantly different radiation-induced trismus (RIT) risk groups following definitive C-CRT.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the medical records of 286 LA-NPC patients who received C-CRT between January 2010 and December 2022. The maximum mouth opening (MMO) was measured before the C-CRT, at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, and every 6 months after that during the follow-up.

In regard to Castagnola et al. (doi: 10.1186/s12903-023-03050-7).

We are grateful to the authors of the study by Castagnola et al., which sought to ascertain the prevalence of tooth necrosis in patients undergoing mandibulotomy or mandibulectomy for head and neck cancer. In order to prevent surgical problems, the researchers suggested doing root canal therapy on the teeth next to the surgical site prior to surgery.

Comment on: Does the Planning Target Volume Correlate with Toxicity for Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation? A Prospective Observational Study.

We highly praised Ujjayani et al.'s [1] report on the effect of target volume planning (PTV) on toxicities in 35 patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) who underwent intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with/without chemotherapy. Although the results of the current study are quite valuable and inspiring, we have two suggestions.

Predicting osteoradionecrosis risk in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy: The value of the CARWL index.

Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) is a severe complication that can arise in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma due to the aggressive nature of chemoradiotherapy treatment. The purpose of our study was to assess the utility of the recently introduced CARWL index, which integrates the C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) and significant weight loss (SWL), in predicting the risk of ORN in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer (LA-NPC) undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis on 304 patients with LA-NPC treated with CCRT.

In Regard to Joseph et al. (2023) (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12070-023-04416-7).

We read the study conducted by Joseph and colleagues with great interest, which investigated the loco-regional control, disease-specific survival (DSS), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related complications in 163 oral cancer (OC) patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) or chemo-RT (CRT) for close resection margins (CRMs).The study results offer valuable insights into the role of RT/CRT in OC patients with CRMs, but two concerns must be addressed to interpret the outcomes rigorously.