Prevention of upper aerodigestive tract cancer through active search strategies and use of equipped propaedeutics.

Introduction: Upper aerodigestive tract cancer is among the most frequent malignancies and has epidemiological importance worldwide. Most cases are already advanced at the diagnosis, with a strong negative impact on survival and high cost to the government. Campaigns directed against these cancers have often failed in Brazil.

Correlation between symptoms and course duration of upper aerodigestive tract cancer at early and advanced stages.

Unlabelled: There still are many clinical and biological aspects of the natural history of cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract to be unveiled; which in Brazil is a direct consequence of the failure of systematic prevention and early diagnosis campaigns.

Objective: To analyze the signs and symptoms presented by patients with the disease at initial and advanced stages. Other variables such as disease duration, general and nutritional status were considered.

Quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer.

Unlabelled: Patients with head and neck cancer have to deal with the impact of treatment on its functional and aesthetic aspects, and its self-report enables improvements in clinical and social support.

Objective: To evaluate the quality of life of patients dealing with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Method: A prospective analytical study.

Analysis of ECOG performance status in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients: association with sociodemographical and clinical factors, and overall survival.

Purpose: In the present study, we analyzed sociodemographical and clinical factors, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) scale in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. We evaluated the impact of a range of variables on overall survival.

Methods: We investigated a sample of HNSCC patients (n = 671), using sociodemographical and clinical information, and survival data collected from a review of epidemiological, clinical, and treatment reports.

A high HIF-1α expression genotype is associated with poor prognosis of upper aerodigestive tract carcinoma patients.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of HIF-1α genetic polymorphisms and protein expression in the development of metastasis in upper aerodigestive tract cancer (UADTC) patients. The expression of pro-angiogenic markers was also evaluated. Protein expression was analysed using immunohistochemistry, and RFLP analysis was used to investigate HIF-1α C1779T and G1790A polymorphisms in 52 patients with UADTC.