Polygenic Score for Clinicopathologic Features and Survival Outcomes in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Importance: Genome-wide association studies have identified germline variants associated with the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) that can be used to construct a polygenic score (PGS). It is important to determine whether patients with higher germline genetic risk, as summarized using PGS, present with more aggressive disease and/or develop worse clinical outcomes.

Objective: To assess whether germline risk defined by PGS is associated with clinicopathologic features and survival outcomes for patients with PTC.

Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Outcomes After Surgery Without Adjuvant Radioactive Iodine.

Context: Pediatric papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is usually treated with total thyroidectomy followed by radioactive iodine (RAI). Recently, RAI has been used more selectively based on surgical pathology and postoperative dynamic risk stratification (DRS).

Objective: To describe patients with pediatric PTC not initially treated with RAI and their disease outcomes.

Potentially functional variants of CHMP4A and PANX1 in the pyroptosis-related pathway predict survival of patients with non-oropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Pyroptosis has been implicated in the advancement of various cancers. Triggering pyroptosis within tumors amplifies the immune response, thereby fostering an antitumor immune environment. Nonetheless, few published studies have evaluated associations between functional variants in the pyroptosis-related genes and clinical outcomes of patients with non-oropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (NON-ORO HNSCC).

Outcomes for Patients With Head and Neck Sarcoma Treated Curatively With Radiation Therapy and Surgery.

Purpose: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) of the head and neck (H&N) are rare malignancies that are challenging to manage. We sought to describe the outcomes of patients treated with curative intent using combined surgery and radiation therapy (RT) for H&N STS.

Methods And Materials: We performed a single-institution retrospective review of patients with nonmetastatic STS of the H&N who were treated from 1968 to 2020.

Cocaine use and head and neck cancer risk: A pooled analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium.

Background: Cocaine is an illegal recreational drug used worldwide, yet little is known about whether cocaine inhalation (smoking/snorting) increases the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC).

Methods: The analyses were conducted by pooling data from three case-control studies with 1639 cases and 2506 controls from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium. Epidemiologic data, including cocaine use histories, were obtained in face-to-face interviews.

Outcomes of Head and Neck Microvascular Free Tissue Transfer for Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Comparison of Solid Organ Transplant Recipients to Nontransplant Patients.

Background: Patients with solid organ transplant (SOT) are at increased risk of developing aggressive cutaneous malignancies due to their immunosuppression, particularly cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).

Purpose: There is limited data regarding SOT patients with locally advanced cSCC requiring radical surgery and microvascular free tissue transfer (MVFTT). Our objectives were to characterize outcomes in SOT patients and compare them with a non-SOT cohort.

Outcome Comparison of Functional Laryngectomy for the Dysfunctional Larynx to Salvage Laryngectomy.

Objective: To compare functional outcomes of total laryngectomy (TL) with microvascular free tissue transfer (MVFTT) reconstruction in the treatment of dysfunctional larynx (DL) versus salvage therapy for locally recurrent disease in patients with a history of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Methods: Retrospective review from a tertiary medical center between August 2015 and August 2022.

Results: Sixty-nine patients underwent TL with MVFTT following primary laryngeal radiation or chemoradiation; 15 (22%) patients underwent functional laryngectomy (FL) and 54 (78%) underwent a salvage laryngectomy (SL).

Outcomes after definitive treatment for cutaneous angiosarcomas of the face and scalp: Reevaluating the role of surgery and radiation therapy.

Introduction: We investigated outcomes and prognostic factors for patients treated for cutaneous angiosarcoma (CA).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients treated for CA of the face and scalp from 1962 to 2019. All received definitive treatment with surgery, radiation (RT), or a combination (S-XRT).

Characterization of the oral microbiota among middle-aged men with and without human papillomavirus infection.

Objectives: To characterize the oral microbiota among middle-aged men and identify differences between men with a prevalent oral high-risk (oncogenic) HPV infection and those without.

Materials And Methods: This was a case-control study nested within a prospective screening study for HPV-related cancers among middle-aged men. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to characterize the oral microbiota and the cobas HPV Test was used to detect presence of oral high-risk HPV types.

Stepped Behavioral and Biological Screening for Oral Oncogenic HPV DNA in Middle-aged and Elderly Adults: A Feasibility Study.

Unlabelled: Novel preventive interventions are needed to address the rising incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-mediated oropharyngeal cancer (HPV+ OPC). This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a stepped, behavioral and biological screening program for oral oncogenic HPV infection, an intermediate HPV+ OPC outcome. This was a cross-sectional, feasibility study.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Prevalence of Anal Dysplasia among Women with High-Grade Cervical, Vaginal, and Vulvar Dysplasia or Cancer: The PANDA Study.

Background: High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is a risk factor for anal cancer, yet no anal cancer screening guidelines exist for women with lower genital tract HPV-related disease. We sought to describe the prevalence of anal HR-HPV or cytologic abnormalities in such women.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed between October 2018 and December 2021.

Clinical activity of checkpoint inhibitors in angiosarcoma: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Systemic treatments for angiosarcoma remains an area of unmet clinical need. The authors conducted this retrospective study to assess the clinical activity of checkpoint inhibitors in patients with angiosarcoma. The primary objective was to assess the objective response rate, and the secondary objective was to assess the progression-free and overall survival durations and disease control rate.

Association of hearing loss and tinnitus symptoms with health-related quality of life among long-term oropharyngeal cancer survivors.

Background: This study investigated the association of hearing loss and tinnitus with overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among long-term oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) survivors.

Methods: This study included OPC survivors treated between 2000 and 2013 and surveyed from September 2015 to July 2016. Hearing loss and tinnitus were measured by asking survivors to rate their "difficulty with hearing loss and/or ringing in the ears" from 0 (not present) to 10 (as bad as you can imagine).

Is 2045 the best we can do? Mitigating the HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer epidemic.

Introduction: Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) will be among the most common cancers in men by 2045 due to a rapid rise in human papillomavirus (HPV)-related OPC. Those who survive their cancer often suffer life-long treatment effects and early death. HPV vaccination could prevent virtually all HPV-related cancers but is not an effective preventive strategy for those already exposed.

Genetic susceptibility to patient-reported xerostomia among long-term oropharyngeal cancer survivors.

Genetic susceptibility for xerostomia, a common sequela of radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer, is unknown. Therefore, to identify genetic variants associated with moderate to severe xerostomia, we conducted a GWAS of 359 long-term oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) survivors using 579,956 autosomal SNPs. Patient-reported cancer treatment-related xerostomia was assessed using the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory.

Safety of microvascular free tissue transfer reconstruction of the head and neck in the setting of chronic pharmacologic immunosuppression.

Background: Patients on chronic pharmacologic immunosuppressive therapy are at increased risk of wound infection and complications after surgery. There is a paucity of data examining perioperative complications after microvascular free tissue transfer (MVFTT) reconstruction of the head and neck in this patient population.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study performed at two tertiary referral centers between August 2016 and May 2020.

Genetic variants in CYP2B6 and HSD17B12 associated with risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) metabolism-related genes play an important role in the development of cancers. We assessed the associations of genetic variants in genes involved in the metabolism of PAHs and TSNA with risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in European populations using two published genome-wide association study datasets. In the single-locus analysis, we identified two SNPs (rs145533669 and rs35246205) in CYP2B6 to be associated with risk of SCCHN (P = 1.

Detection accuracy of the Cobas HPV assay for high-risk HPV in head and neck FNA biopsy specimens.

Background: This study evaluated the detection accuracy of the Cobas human papillomavirus (HPV) assay for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) and HPV-16 in head and neck fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens with squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: Head and neck FNA biopsy specimens from 2012 to 2020 were retrospectively collected. Cobas HPV testing was performed on 90 FNA specimens with valid Cervista HPV testing results.

Oropharyngeal cancer outcomes correlate with p16 status, multinucleation and immune infiltration.

Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), largely fueled by the human papillomavirus (HPV), has a complex biological and immunologic phenotype. Although HPV/p16 status can be used to stratify OPSCC patients as a function of survival, it remains unclear what drives an improved treatment response in HPV-associated OPSCC and whether targetable biomarkers exist that can inform a precision oncology approach. We analyzed OPSCC patients treated between 2000 and 2016 and correlated locoregional control (LRC), disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) with conventional clinical parameters, risk parameters generated using deep-learning algorithms trained to quantify tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) (OP-TIL) and multinucleated tumor cells (MuNI) and targeted transcriptomics.

Risk factors associated with patient-reported fatigue among long-term oropharyngeal carcinoma survivors.

Background: The study objective is to identify risk factors associated with fatigue among long-term OPC survivors.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included disease-free OPC survivors treated curatively between 2000 and 2013 who were surveyed from September 2015 to July 2016. The outcome variable was patient-reported fatigue.

Prevention and Screening of HPV Malignancies.

It is estimated that 5% of the global cancer burden, or approximately 690,000 cancer cases annually, is attributable to human papillomavirus (HPV). Primary prevention through prophylactic vaccination is the best option for reducing the burden of HPV-related cancers. Most high-income countries (HICs) have introduced the HPV vaccine and are routinely vaccinating adolescent boys and girls.