Long term trends at a comprehensive cancer center during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: As the ongoing public health crisis from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic puts strains on current models of cancer care, many health care centers had to adapt to minimize the risk of exposure and infection. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in a comprehensive cancer center were determined.

Aims: To measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on care delivery at a comprehensive cancer center.

African American race as a risk factor associated with a second primary lung cancer after initial primary head and neck cancer.

Background: Initial primary head and neck cancer (IPHNC) is associated with second primary lung cancer (SPLC). We studied this association in a population with a high proportion of African American (AA) patients.

Methods: Patients with IPHNC and SPLC treated between 2000 and 2017 were reviewed for demographic, disease, and treatment-related characteristics and compared to age-and-stage-matched controls without SPLC.

Telemedicine trends at a comprehensive cancer center during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: This article reports on the effects of an early outbreak during the COVID-19 pandemic on visit volume and telehealth use by various specialists at a comprehensive cancer center.

Materials And Methods: The number of on-site and telehealth visits (THV) for medical and surgical specialties were obtained from scheduling software.

Results: Total visits were most drastically limited in April 2020 to a low point of 3139; THV made up 28% of all visits.

Using telemedicine to facilitate social distancing in otolaryngology: A systematic review.

Objectives: As the coronavirus 2019 pandemic puts strains on current models of otolaryngology practice, telemedicine is an attractive way for otolaryngologists to reduce in-person appointments while still addressing the health of their patients. This systematic review of the literature aims to identify the evidence basis for using telemedicine in otolaryngology practice to limit person-to-person interactions while achieving comparable quality to in-person services.

Methods: The authors gathered articles from three databases (Embase, PubMed and Web of Science), performed a comprehensive literature review of articles published on telemedicine since 2002, and selected articles for inclusion based on their relevance to otolaryngology and the potential of the intervention to improve patient social distancing.

The role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in anaplastic thyroid cancer (Case Series).

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a rare type of thyroid neoplasm. However, it is one of the most aggressive forms of malignancy accounting for approximately 50% of mortality associated with all thyroid cancers. Here we report two cases of ATC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Targeting the unfolded protein response in head and neck and oral cavity cancers.

Many FDA-approved anti-cancer therapies, targeted toward a wide array of molecular targets and signaling networks, have been demonstrated to activate the unfolded protein response (UPR). Despite a critical role for UPR signaling in the apoptotic execution of cancer cells by many of these compounds, the authors are currently unaware of any instance whereby a cancer drug was developed with the UPR as the intended target. With the essential role of the UPR as a driving force in the genesis and maintenance of the malignant phenotype, a great number of pre-clinical studies have surged into the medical literature describing the ability of dozens of compounds to induce UPR signaling in a myriad of cancer models.

Disulfiram (Antabuse) Activates ROS-Dependent ER Stress and Apoptosis in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

A paucity of advances in the development of novel therapeutic agents for squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, oral cavity (OSCC) and oropharynx, has stagnated disease free survival rates over the past two decades. Although immunotherapies targeted against checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1 or CTLA-4 are just now entering the clinic for late stage disease with regularity the median improvement in overall survival is only about three months. There is an urgent unmet clinical need to identify new therapies that can be used alone or in combination with current approaches to increase survival by more than a few months.

Soy Isoflavone Supplementation Increases Long Interspersed Nucleotide Element-1 (LINE-1) Methylation in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Aim: Soy isoflavones have been suggested as epigenetic modulating agents with effects that could be important in carcinogenesis. Hypomethylation of LINE-1 has been associated with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) development from oral premalignant lesions and with poor prognosis. To determine if neoadjuvant soy isoflavone supplementation could modulate LINE-1 methylation in HNSCC, we undertook a clinical trial.

Tumor Differentiation as a Prognostic Factor for Major Salivary Gland Malignancies.

Objective The effect of tumor differentiation on prognosis of major salivary gland malignancies is controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of tumor differentiation on prognosis by stage in patients with major salivary gland malignancies and to analyze which patient factors are associated with tumor differentiation. Study Design and Setting Cross-sectional analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Recent trends in oropharyngeal cancer funding and public interest.

Objectives/hypothesis: The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) has increased in the United States. This has been driven by an increase in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive OPC. Our objective is to determine trends in National Institutes (NIH)-supported research funding and public interest in OPC.

Head and Neck Cancer.

Despite a considerable expansion in our therapeutic repertoire for management of other malignancies, mortality from head and neck cancer (HNC) has not significantly improved in recent decades. Upon normalizing National Institutes of Health-awarded R01 and R01-equivalent grants by incidence, thyroid cancer ($214) and HNC ($1329) received the fewest funding dollars. Upon adjusting funding totals by mortality, HNC was 7th out of 9 cancers evaluated ($6138).

PD1/PD-L1 inhibition as a potential radiosensitizer in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a case report.

Background: Immunotherapy targeting the checkpoint PD1 (programmed cell death protein 1) or PDL1 (programmed death ligand 1) has led to advances in the treatment of melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The use of such therapies has also been introduced into the treatment of other malignancies, including head and neck cancer. The combined effects of checkpoint inhibitors and anti-PD1(L1) antibodies and radiation therapy have not yet been sufficiently investigated.

Outcomes of nonsurgical management of locally advanced carcinomas of the sinonasal cavity.

Objective: To determine the outcome of definitive concurrent chemoradiation with platinum for locally advanced sinonasal carcinomas.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Methods: Twenty-three nonsurgically and definitively treated patients diagnosed between July 1998 and February 2009 were analyzed.

Pretreatment computed tomographic gross tumor volume as predictor of persistence of tracheostomy and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube in patients undergoing larynx preservation.

Background: Although larynx preservation affords patients improvements in laryngectomy-free survival, little has been reported regarding the functional outcomes after larynx preservation. The purpose of this study was to report the predictive value of pretreatment CT-gross tumor volume (GTV) for persistence of tracheostomy and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube in larynx preservation patients.

Methods: Each patient had a CT scan before initiation of therapy and the GTV was contoured.

Borrelidin Induces the Unfolded Protein Response in Oral Cancer Cells and Chop-Dependent Apoptosis.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common cancer affecting the oral cavity, and US clinics will register about 30,000 new patients in 2015. Current treatment modalities include chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, which often result in astonishing disfigurement. Cancers of the head and neck display enhanced levels of glucose-regulated proteins and translation initiation factors associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR).

Understanding the Risk Factors and Long-Term Consequences of Cisplatin-Associated Acute Kidney Injury: An Observational Cohort Study.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a well-known complication of cisplatin-based chemotherapy; however, its impact on long-term patient survival is unclear. We sought to determine the incidence and risk factors for development of cisplatin-associated AKI and its impact on long-term renal function and patient survival. We identified 233 patients who received 629 cycles of high-dose cisplatin (99±9mg/m2) for treatment of head and neck cancer between 2005 and 2011.

Biweekly gemcitabine and paclitaxel in patients with relapsed or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Purpose: We conducted a Phase II, clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a biweekly gemcitabine and paclitaxel (GEMTAX) regimen as second-line treatment in patients with recurrent or metastatic unresectable, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The primary endpoint was response rate.

Patients And Methods: Patients with recurrent unresectable or metastatic platinum refractory SCCHN, who had performance status ≤2 and adequate organ function, were eligible.

Transoral robotic surgery for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea: factors predicting surgical response.

Objectives/hypothesis: We reviewed our experience with the use of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for base of tongue (BOT) reduction either alone or as part of multilevel strategy in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in order to identify clinical characteristics that may be associated with surgical response.

Study Design: Case series.

Methods: Between June 2010 and May 2014, BOT reduction via TORS ± partial epiglottectomy ± uvulopalatopharyngoplasty were performed on 72 patients with OSAHS.

Risk stratification based on thyroid cytology: can we rely on national data?

Purpose: Determine correlation of malignancy rates between fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy and surgical specimen in an urban academic environment.

Methods: Retrospective review at an academic medical center of fine needle aspiration biopsies and surgical specimens in a head and neck otolaryngology practice between 2000 and 2012.

Results: Of the 74 biopsies diagnosed as follicular lesion, 34 (45.

Transoral robotic surgery for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate the efficacy of base of tongue (BOT) resection via transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

Study Design: Case series

Methods: Between June 2010 and May 2012, BOT resection via TORS was performed on 27 patients with OSAHS. Patients were excluded from this analysis if other concomitant upper airway procedures such as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty were performed, or if postoperative polysomnograms were not available.

Single-incision transaxillary robotic thyroidectomy: challenges and limitations in a North American population.

Objective: We reviewed our initial experience with robotic thy-roidectomy to identify challenges and limitations of this new surgical approach when applied to a North American population.

Study Design: Case series.

Setting: Academic institution.

Drug-induced sleep endoscopy vs awake Müller's maneuver in the diagnosis of severe upper airway obstruction.

Objective: To compare fiber-optic nasal endoscopy with Müller's maneuver (FNMM) against drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) in diagnosing the presence of severe level-specific upper airway collapse in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

Study Design: Case series with chart review.

Setting: Tertiary care academic center.