Periodontitis and dental quality of life predict long-term survival in head and neck cancer.

Background: Our aim was to investigate oral health in newly diagnosed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients in relation to long-term survival. We assessed whether the level of alveolar bone loss due to periodontitis at diagnosis, measured from orthopantomogram (OPG), and reported dental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores obtained at diagnosis contain prognostic information for HNSCC patients.

Methods: A total of 79 patients from a consecutive cohort of 106 diagnosed with HNSCC between November 2002 and June 2005 were included.

Hearing, Balance, and Mortality: Sex-Specific Patterns in a Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: Assess the association of hearing on sex-specific overall mortality and death from acute cardiovascular disease and evaluate if these effects are modulated by postural balance.

Study Design: Cohort study.

Setting: Otolaryngology department at an academic hospital.

Development of a high dimensional imaging mass cytometry panel to investigate spatial organization of tissue microenvironment in formalin-fixed archival clinical tissues.

To decipher the interactions between various components of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and tumor cells in a preserved spatial context, a multiparametric approach is essential. In this pursuit, imaging mass cytometry (IMC) emerges as a valuable tool, capable of concurrently analyzing up to 40 parameters at subcellular resolution. In this study, a set of antibodies was selected to spatially resolve multiple cell types and TME elements, including a comprehensive panel targeted at dissecting the heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF), a pivotal TME component.

Plasma IL-1 and IL-6 Family Cytokines with Soluble Receptor Levels at Diagnosis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: High Levels Predict Decreased Five-Year Disease-Specific and Overall Survival.

Activation of the acute-phase cascade (APC) has been correlated with outcomes in various cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Primary drivers of the APC are the cytokines within the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1 families. Plasma levels of IL-6 family cytokines/soluble receptors (IL-6, IL-27, IL-31, OSM, CNTF, soluble (s-)gp130, s-IL-6Rα) and IL-1 family members (IL-1RA, s-IL-33Rα) were determined at diagnosis for 87 human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative (-) HNSCC patients.

The Codon 72 Arginine Polymorphism Is Found with Increased Somatic Mutations in HPV(-) and in an Increased Percentage among HPV(+) Norwegian HNSCC Patients.

Background: Somatic mutations are frequent in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and are important pathogenic factors.

Objective: To study mutations relative to the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in tumors in HNSCC patients.

Methods: Using a custom-made next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue, we analyzed somatic mutations and the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) codon 72 (P72R; rs1042522) (proline → arginine) from 104 patients with HNSCC.

Tumor HPV Status, Level of Regulatory T Cells and Macrophage Infiltration Predict up to 20-Year Non-Disease-Specific Survival in Oropharynx Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients.

Unlabelled: Oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is of special interest because human papilloma virus (HPV) and/or smoking cause this disease. Influxes of inflammatory cells into such tumors are known to vary with prognoses.

Aims: To study whether the density of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes and tumor-infiltrating macrophages predicted general 20-year overall survival (OS), as well as OS with only disease-specific survival (DSS) patients included.

The Romberg sign, unilateral vestibulopathy, cerebrovascular risk factors, and long-term mortality in dizzy patients.

Objectives: Describe the relationship between unsteadiness, canal paresis, cerebrovascular risk factors, and long-term mortality in patients examined for dizziness of suspected vestibular origin.

Study Design: Observational cohort with prospective collection of survival data.

Setting: University clinic neurotological unit.

Tumor Infiltration Levels of CD3, Foxp3 (+) Lymphocytes and CD68 Macrophages at Diagnosis Predict 5-Year Disease-Specific Survival in Patients with Oropharynx Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Oropharyngeal (OP) cancers are of special interest because of possible underlying HPV infection which is tied to prognosis. Influxes of inflammatory cells into tumors may vary with prognoses.

Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing of Cancer-Related Genes in a Norwegian Patient Cohort With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Reveals Novel Actionable Mutations and Correlations With Pathological Parameters.

Background: Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly applied in clinical oncology to advance personalized treatment. Despite success in many other tumour types, use of targeted NGS panels for assisting diagnosis and treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) is still limited.

Aim: The focus of this study was to establish a robust NGS panel targeting most frequent cancer mutations in long-term preserved formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples of HNSCC from routine diagnostics.

Importance of personality and coping expectancy on patient-reported hearing disability, quality of life and distress level: a study of patients referred to an audiology service.

Purpose: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hearing loss (HL) affects up to 15% of the world's adult population. Coping and personality are hypothesized to underlie quality of life (QoL) and distress scores. We aimed to study the importance of personality and coping in persons with HL for self-reported hearing disability, QoL, and distress.

Psychometric properties for the Norwegian translations of two revised APHAB-subscales and an adapted IOI-HA (IOI-CI) in patients with cochlear implants.

Objective: The objective was to examine the psychometric properties of two questionnaires in Norwegian for the self-assessment of satisfaction following cochlear implantation.

Design: The International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids adapted for cochlear implants (IOI-CI) and two revised subscales from the Norwegian translation of the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) were applied. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach's .

The levels of IL-6 and soluble IL-33R are increased in the renal vein during surgery for clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: The main aim was to map serum levels of IL-1/IL-6 family cytokines and relevant receptors from serum samples taken across treatment in patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). Additionally, we explored the possible interactions between these measurements, immunohistochemistry and intratumoral blood flow.

Methods: We included 40 patients undergoing open surgery for renal tumors.

Psychometric properties of the Norwegian translation of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-NOR).

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of a Norwegian translation of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-NOR).

Design: A survey was sent by post to patients referred with tinnitus as their main complaint to an audiology department. Patients completed a Norwegian version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-NOR), a Norwegian translation of two revised subscales of the Abbreviated profile of hearing aid benefit (APHAB), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as well as questionnaires measuring coping expectancies (TOMCATS) and neuroticism (EPI).

Long-Term Survival in 1,931 Patients With Dizziness: Disease- and Symptom-Specific Mortality.

Objective: To evaluate mortality among patients referred for suspected vestibular disorder and to examine whether specific symptoms or disorders predict long-term survival among patients with dizziness or vertigo.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed long-term survival data.

Reduced grey- and white matter volumes due to unilateral hearing loss following treatment for vestibular schwannoma.

Objective: Previous studies of the consequences of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) on the functional-structural organization of the brain has included subjects with various degrees of UHL. We suggest that the consequences of a total loss of hearing in one ear might differ from those seen in subjects with residual hearing in the affected ear. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to compare the structural properties of auditory and non-auditory brain regions in persons with complete UHL to those of normal hearing controls.

The Acute Phase Reaction and Its Prognostic Impact in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Single Biomarkers Including C-Reactive Protein Versus Biomarker Profiles.

C-reactive protein (CRP) has a prognostic impact in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the acute phase reaction involves many other proteins depending on its inducing events, including various cytokines that can function as reaction inducers. In the present study, we compared the pretreatment acute phase cytokine profile for 144 patients with potentially curative HNSCC.

Serum levels of the IL-6 family of cytokines predict prognosis in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Purpose: An improved understanding of RCC immunology should shed further light on RCC tumor biology. Our objective was to study to what extent serum levels of the IL-6 family of cytokines at diagnosis were relevant to survival.

Methods: A total of 118 consecutively patients with RCC, in which the tumor was surgically removed at Haukeland University Hospital during the period from 2007 to 2010, were included.

Evaluation of Self-reported Symptoms in 1,457 Dizzy Patients and Associations With Caloric Testing and Posturography.

Objective: To determine if symptoms regarding timing and triggers of dizziness are useful for categorizing patients with dizziness, and to evaluate how patient-reported symptoms predict vestibular asymmetry, postural sway, and vestibular diagnoses.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Personality and educational level determine self-reported health-related quality-of-life and distress in patients with renal tumors awaiting radical surgery.

Data on preoperative distress and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) is lacking for patients with newly diagnosed renal tumors. This study aims to compare HRQoL within this group with the general population and to study the relationship between distress, HRQoL, personality, coping, and patient/tumor-related factors. Between January 2011 and June 2014, 153 patients (100 males/53 females), scheduled for surgery were prospectively included.

EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck (H&N)-35 scores from H&N squamous cell carcinoma patients obtained at diagnosis and at 6, 9 and 12 months following diagnosis predict 10-year overall survival.

Purpose: To study the 10-year overall survival predictions, and mechanisms behind, of head and neck (HN) quality of life (QoL) scores obtained at diagnosis and 6, 9, and 12 months following diagnosis in a cohort of HN squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.

Methods: Consecutive HNSCC patients (N = 109) subjected to standard workup and treatment self-reported their QoL measured by the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) H&N-35 between November 2002 and June 2005. Each QoL index was calculated and additionally aggregated to one sum score.

An fMRI-study on single-sided deafness: Spectral-temporal properties and side of stimulation modulates hemispheric dominance.

Objective: Our main aim was to investigate the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response to monaural and binaural speech- and non-speech stimuli as measured with fMRI in subjects with single-sided deafness and in normal hearing controls. We hypothesised that the response to monaural stimulation in both normal hearing subjects and persons with single-sided deafness would vary with the complexity and nature of the stimuli and the side of stimulation.

Design: Patients with left- and right single-sided deafness and controls with normal hearing receiving either binaural or monaural stimuli were tested using speech and non-speech auditory stimuli in an event-related fMRI experiment.

Quality of life in persons with hearing loss: a study of patients referred to an audiological service.

To investigate the relationship between hearing loss (HL) and general quality of life (QoL) in adults seeking hearing aids (HAs). The patients completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire's general part and a questionnaire measuring self-assessed communication ability (Abbreviated Profile of hearing Aid Benefit-APHAB). These responses were compared with EORTC scores from a general population and patients with former head and neck cancer.

Hearing as an Independent Predictor of Postural Balance in 1075 Patients Evaluated for Dizziness.

Objective: To evaluate the association between hearing and postural balance.

Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: Tertiary care otolaryngology clinic.

Periodontal status at diagnosis predicts non-disease-specific survival in a geographically defined cohort of patients with oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine periodontal status with a time-efficient screening method from a cohort of newly diagnosed oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) patients and to study to what extent dental disease level predicted survival. Aims/objective: Can measuring level of dental pathology based on a blind investigation of a routine orthopantogram (OPG) obtained during diagnostic workup reveal prognostic information?

Materials And Methods: We included 97 patients diagnosed between 2003 and 2010. Radiographic alveolar bone loss was measured.