Blood Markers Predicting Clinically Occult Lymph Node Metastasis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Introduction: The presence of cervical lymph node metastases is an unfavorable prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and a potential cause of treatment failure. Occult lymph node metastasis occurs in approximately 15-20% of HNSCC patients with a clinically negative neck (cN0), greatly impacting on their prognosis. The present study aimed to investigate the role of pre-treatment peripheral blood markers in predicting clinically occult cervical lymph node metastasis.

Management of Parastomal Recurrence Following Total Laryngectomy.

Parastomal recurrence occurs in around 5% of patients undergoing total laryngectomy for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. It carries a poor prognosis which has changed little over the last 50 years, and poses a significant challenge to the head and neck surgeon. At present, surgical excision offers the only realistic chance of cure, although patients must be selected carefully following thorough work-up and in-depth multidisciplinary team discussion.

Prevalence and prognostic impact of retropharyngeal lymph nodes metastases in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: Meta-analysis of published literature.

Background: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the prevalence and prognostic impact of retropharyngeal lymph node metastases (RLNMs) in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Methods: This meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines.

Inclusion Criteria: studies with more than 20 patients reporting the prevalence or prognostic impact of RLNMs in OPSCC.

Sporadic medullary thyroid cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinico-pathological and mutational characteristics predicting recurrence.

Introduction: Sporadic medullary thyroid cancer accounts for 75% of all medullary thyroid cancers and presents at a more advanced disease stage than its hereditary counterparts. Yet there is little evidence to support risk stratification of patients according to risk of recurrence.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed investigating clinical and pathological factors that are associated with recurrent disease in patients with medullary thyroid cancer.

Different inflammatory blood markers correlate with specific outcomes in incident HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Inflammatory blood markers have been associated with oncological outcomes in several cancers, but evidence for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is scanty. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the association between five different inflammatory blood markers and several oncological outcomes.

Methods: This multi-centre retrospective analysis included 925 consecutive patients with primary HPV-negative HNSCC (median age: 68 years) diagnosed between April 2004 and June 2018, whose pre-treatment blood parameters were available.

Promoter Mutations and rs2853669 Polymorphism: Useful Markers for Clinical Outcome Stratification of Patients With Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Objective: To date, no useful prognostic biomarker exists for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC), a tumour with uncertain biological behaviour and subsequent unpredictable clinical course. We aim to investigate the prognostic significance of two recurrent somatic mutations (-124 C>T and -146 C>T) within the promoter of telomerase reverse transcriptase () gene and the impact of TERT single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2853669 in patients surgically treated for OCSCC.

Methods: The genetic frequencies of rs2853669, -124 C>T and -146 C>T as well as the telomere length were investigated in 144 tumours and 57 normal adjacent mucosal (AM) specimens from OCSCC patients.

Prognostic indicators in clinically node-negative malignant primary salivary tumours of the parotid: A multicentre experience.

Objectives: Nodal metastasis is an important prognosticator in primary parotid cancers. The management of the clinically node-negative neck is an area lacking consensus. This study investigates the occult nodal metastasis rate, and prognostic indicators in primary parotid cancers.

Prognostic value of H-index in patients surgically treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.

Objective: Recently, a novel host-related index, the Host-index (H-index), including both inflammatory and nutritional markers, has been described and observed to stratify prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity more accurately than other host-related indexes This study aimed to investigate the prognostic performance of the H-index using pretreatment blood tests in patients receiving up-front surgery for SCC of the larynx.

Methods: This retrospective observational study included a multicenter series of consecutive patients with SCC of the larynx diagnosed between 1 January 2009 and 31 July 2018, whose pretreatment blood tests were available and included the parameters necessary for the calculation of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the H-index. Their association with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was measured.

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on suspected head and neck cancer two-week-wait referrals.

Background: The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 extends far beyond the immediate burden on healthcare systems caused by hospitalisation of patients with the disease itself.

Objective: To investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on the referral rate of patients to the suspected head and neck cancer two-week-wait clinic.

Methods: A multicentre retrospective study was performed investigating data collected for all patients attending the suspected head and neck cancer two-week-wait clinic in ENT departments in the West Midlands.

The risk of recurrence in surgically treated head and neck squamous cell carcinomas: a conditional probability approach.

Background: Over 50% of patients with head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) experience locoregional recurrence, which is associated with poor outcome. In the course of follow-up for patients surviving primary surgery for HNSCC, one might ask: What is the probability of recurrence in one year considering that the cancer has not yet recurred to date?

Materials And Methods: To answer this question, 979 patients surgically treated for HNSCC (i.e.

Advanced lung cancer inflammation index and its prognostic value in HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a multicentre study.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic value of pre-treatment advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI) in patients with HPV-negative HNSCC undergoing up-front surgical treatment.

Methods: The present multi-centre, retrospective study was performed in a consecutive cohort of patients who underwent upfront surgery with or without adjuvant (chemo)-radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Patients were stratified by ALI, and survival outcomes were compared between groups.

Elective neck dissection in primary parotid carcinomas: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: To estimate the rate of occult cervical lymph node metastases in cN0 patients affected by primary parotid carcinomas and to scrutinize the evidence on the indication and extent of elective neck dissection in these neoplasms.

Methods: Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Scopus were searched until August 31, 2020, to identify studies reporting the use of elective neck dissection in the management of malignant parotid tumours. The PRISMA checklist was used.

The impact of nodal status in major salivary gland carcinoma: A multicenter experience and proposal of a novel N-classification.

Objectives: Despite differences in oncological behavior, the 8th edition of AJCC TNM staging currently proposes the same N-classification for major salivary glands (MSG) carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract. The present study aims to investigate a more reliable definition of N-categories for MSG carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective multicenter study was performed, including 307 patients treated for primary MSG carcinoma from 1995 to 2019.

Mendelian randomization supports a causative effect of TSH on thyroid carcinoma.

Evidence from observational studies suggest a positive association between serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and differentiated thyroid carcinoma. However, the cause-effect relationship is poorly understood and these studies are susceptible to bias and confounding. This study aimed to investigate the causal role of TSH in both benign thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer in up to 451,025 UK Biobank participants, using a genetic technique, known as Mendelian randomization (MR).

HCV infection and the risk of head and neck cancer: A meta-analysis.

Recent evidence has consistently suggested a role for HCV in the etiology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but the conclusions of these studies have often been limited by small sample size. Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed to summarize present evidence on the association between HCV infection and HNSCC. After screening citations from literature search, eight observational studies investigating the association between HCV and cancer(s) of either oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx were included.

Does Obesity Cause Thyroid Cancer? A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Background: The incidence of thyroid cancer is rising, and relatively little is known about modifiable risk factors for the condition. Observational studies have suggested a link between adiposity and thyroid cancer; however, these are subject to confounding and reverse causality. Here, we used data from the UK Biobank and Mendelian randomization approaches to investigate whether adiposity causes benign nodular thyroid disease and differentiated thyroid cancer.

Beta human papillomaviruses infection and skin carcinogenesis.

During the last decade, the worldwide incidence of keratinocyte carcinomas (KC) has increased significantly. They are now the most common malignancy, representing approximately 30% of all cancers. The role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation as a major environmental risk factor for skin cancers is well recognized.

Controversies in the surgical management of sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Purpose Of Review: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) represents a wide spectrum of tumours with differing biology, behaviour and natural history. The only current available curative treatment is surgery in the form of thyroidectomy with or without ipsilateral or bilateral neck dissection. There is a lack of consensus in the available published guidelines on the optimum extent of initial surgery, and there is significant variation in clinical practice.

Predictive and prognostic significance of telomerase levels/telomere length in tissues and peripheral blood in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

A growing body of evidence indicates that the expression of TERT, the catalytic subunit of telomerase, is a biological marker of progression in several cancers. We investigated the predictive and prognostic role of TERT levels and telomere length in tissues and peripheral blood in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). High TERT levels in cancer tissues were independently associated with worse response to therapy (odds ratio [OR]:6.