Modified method for tracheoesophageal fistula closure in intractable cases.

Objective: Tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) is one of the most established methods for voice reacquisition following total laryngectomy. The most difficult complication following TEP is the management of saliva leakage or secretion into the trachea due to TE fistula enlargement. In this study, we devised a new strategy to close TE fistulas and confirmed its safety and effectiveness.

Complications including dysphagia following transoral non-robotic surgery for pharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective multicenter study.

Objective: Transoral surgery is a minimally invasive treatment but may cause severe dysphagia at a lower rate than chemoradiotherapy.

Methods: We compared clinical information, surgical complications, and swallowing function in patients who underwent transoral nonrobotic surgery for laryngo-pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma between 2015 and 2021 in a multicenter retrospective study.

Results: Six hundred and forty patients were included.

Impact of cervical lymph node metastasis on transoral surgery for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective multicenter study.

Background: Hypopharyngeal carcinoma is likely to spread to the lymph nodes, but there is no established strategy for management in transoral surgery.

Methods: We compared oncologic and functional outcomes in a retrospective multicenter study of patients who underwent transoral surgery for hypopharyngeal carcinoma between 2015 and 2021.

Results: Two-hundred and thirty-two patients were included.

Local recurrence and metachronous multiple cancers after transoral nonrobotic surgery for pharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective multicenter study.

Background: Late laryngopharyngeal cancers after transoral surgery include not only local recurrences but also metachronous multiple cancers.

Methods: We compared clinical information, surgical outcomes, and late laryngopharyngeal cancers in patients who underwent transoral nonrobotic surgery for laryngopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma without lymph node metastases between 2015 and 2021 in a multicenter retrospective study.

Results: Four hundred and fifty-seven patients were included.

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on hospital visit of head and neck cancer patients.

Objective: Head and neck cancer (HNC) often causes respiratory symptoms, so diagnostic delays due to COVID-19 are anticipated. Especially, our institute is a designated medical institute for Class 1 specified infectious diseases, and most of the severe COVID-19 patients in this region were preferentially admitted or transferred. Hereby, we evaluated the trends of the numbers, primary sites and clinical stages of HNC patients before and after COVID-19 pandemic.

Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy With Weekly Low-Dose Cisplatin for Japanese Patients With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with tri-weekly high-dose cisplatin (HDC) is considered the standard regimen. However, due to significant toxicity, various weekly low-dose schedules have been increasingly used. We investigated the tolerability and survival of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who underwent CCRT with low-dose weekly cisplatin (LDC) for Japanese population.

Lingual Lymph Node Metastases as a Prognostic Factor in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma-A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

The epidemiology and prognostic role of lingual lymph node (LLN) metastasis in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unclear. Here, we aimed to analyze the clinicopathological features, risk factors, and prognostic role of LLN metastasis in patients with OSCC. In total, 945 patients with OSCC were retrospectively analyzed.

Clinical significance of tumor-associated immune cells in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells and infiltration of tumor-associated immune cells (TAICs) might reflect the tumor biology of head and neck cancer. We aimed to characterize their prognostic roles in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs).

Methods: We enrolled 103 OSCC patients who underwent definitive surgery.

Neck Dissection for Cervical Lymph Node Metastases from Remote Primary Malignancies.

: Patients with cervical lymph node metastases from remote primary tumours have poor prognoses because of the advanced stage of their cancer. Owing to recent progress in the nonsurgical management of various cancer types, options for surgical treatment to reduce tumour volume are increasing, and may help improve survival rates. For example, neck dissection may be a good option as a definitive therapy for some patients with resectable cervical metastases.

Real-time imaging of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas using confocal micro-endoscopy and applicable dye: A preliminary study.

Objectives: Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) is a technology that enables microscopic visualization of lesions in real-time (optical biopsy) and has been successfully applied for clinical use in gastroenterology. Recently, it was also introduced for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) diagnostics. We previously designed a self-made CLE, which can provide bichrome images, with topical contrast agents that are safe for use in patients.

Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Accelerate Hearing Recovery via Regeneration or Maintenance of Cochlear Fibrocytes in Mouse Spiral Ligaments.

Mammalian cochleae have limited capacity for regeneration, which is one of the major difficulties in the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss. In the current study, we examined the potential of bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSCs) for functional restoration of mouse cochleae through regeneration or maintenance of cochlear fibrocytes in the spiral ligament (SL). We used a mouse model of degeneration of cochlear fibrocytes in the SL using local application of 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP), in which disruption of the gap junction network in the SL resulted in the reduction of the endocochlear potential (EP).

Cells transplanted onto the surface of the glial scar reveal hidden potential for functional neural regeneration.

Cell transplantation therapy has long been investigated as a therapeutic intervention for neurodegenerative disorders, including spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Indeed, patients have high hopes for a cell-based therapy. However, there are numerous practical challenges for clinical translation.

[Parotidectomy for parotid gland tumor using a retrograde approach from the peripheral branches of the facial nerve].

There are two techniques for excising a parotid gland tumor. The first technique is the anterograde approach, and the second is the retrograde approach. Although the anterograde approach has generally been adopted, the retrograde approach may be useful depending on the identification and dissection of the facial nerve and the localization of the tumor.

Therapeutic potential of a gamma-secretase inhibitor for hearing restoration in a guinea pig model with noise-induced hearing loss.

Background: Notch signaling plays a crucial role in the fate determination of cochlear progenitor cells, hair cells, and supporting cells in the developing cochlea. Recent studies have demonstrated the temporal activation of Notch signaling in damaged mature cochleae, and have demonstrated the induction of new hair cells by pharmacologically inhibiting Notch signaling. The present study aimed to illustrate the feasibility of pharmacologically inhibiting Notch signaling by using a gamma-secretase inhibitor for treating sensorineural hearing loss.

In vivo imaging of mouse cochlea by optical coherence tomography.

Hypothesis: Cochlear pathology can be evaluated in living animals using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Background: The current imaging methods available for the detailed analysis of cochlear pathology in a clinical setting provide only limited information. Thus, a cochlear imaging modality with high definition is needed for improving the diagnosis of cochlear pathology.

Hedgehog signaling regulates prosensory cell properties during the basal-to-apical wave of hair cell differentiation in the mammalian cochlea.

Mechanosensory hair cells and supporting cells develop from common precursors located in the prosensory domain of the developing cochlear epithelium. Prosensory cell differentiation into hair cells or supporting cells proceeds from the basal to the apical region of the cochleae, but the mechanism and significance of this basal-to-apical wave of differentiation remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the role of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling in cochlear development by examining the effects of up- and downregulation of Hh signaling in vivo.

Four-dimensional computed tomographic angiography of an arteriovenous fistula in the neck.

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF), a type of vascular anomaly, is a relatively uncommon disease characterized by abnormal connections between the arterial and venous systems. Recently, remarkable advances in four-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (4D-CTA) have enabled detailed analysis of the hemodynamic features of vascular anomalies, which cannot be achieved by conventional imaging modalities. We report a case of AVF in a 59-year-old female presenting as a right neck mass.

Prostaglandin E receptor subtype EP4 agonist serves better to protect cochlea than prostaglandin E1.

Objective: The present study aimed to examine whether an E-prostanoid receptor 4 (EP4) agonist has superior protective effects to those of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) in a guinea pig model of noise trauma.

Methods: Drugs were locally applied on the round window membrane of guinea pig cochleae, followed by exposure of the test animals to intense noise. Protective effects mediated by an EP4 agonist were compared with those mediated by PGE1.

Role of PGE-type receptor 4 in auditory function and noise-induced hearing loss in mice.

This study explored the physiological roles of PGE-type receptor 4 (EP4) in auditory function. EP4-deficient mice exhibited slight hearing loss and a reduction of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) with loss of outer hair cells (OHCs) in cochleae. After exposure to intense noise, these mice showed significantly larger threshold shifts of auditory brain-stem responses (ABRs) and greater reductions of DPOAEs than wild-type mice.

Role of prostaglandin E receptor subtypes EP2 and EP4 in autocrine and paracrine functions of vascular endothelial growth factor in the inner ear.

Background: The physiological effects of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) are mediated by the prostaglandin E receptor subtypes EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4, and the respective agonists have been purified. PGE1 and PGE2 can increase the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), particularly through EP2 and EP4. The biological effects of VEGF are mediated by the phosphotyrosine kinase receptors fms-related tyrosine kinase-1 (Flt-1) and fetal liver kinase-1 (Flk-1).