Prevalence of human papillomavirus in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas in northern Spain.

Background: Recent studies support a role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs); however, the significance of HPV in non-oropharyngeal head and neck cancers is uncertain. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HPV in a large cohort of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal SCCs in northern Spain.

Materials And Methods: Clinical records and paraffin-embedded tumor specimens of 124 consecutive patients surgically treated for laryngeal (62 cases) and hypopharyngeal (62 cases) SCCs between 2002 and 2007 were retrieved.

NFκB expression is a feature of both activated B-cell-like and germinal center B-cell-like subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

The activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) transcription factor family is considered to have a key role in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) pathogenesis and is associated with a specific molecular subtype, the activated B-cell-like (ABC) subtype. We evaluated the expression of NFκB by immunohistochemistry in a large series of DLBCL cases. The five different NFκB family members (NFκB1, NFκB2, RELA, RELB, and REL) showed a heterogeneous expression pattern with the vast majority of cases being positive for at least one factor.

p27 and BCL2 expression predicts response to chemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

Objectives: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are characterized by marked heterogeneity in their biological behavior and response to treatment. Our goal was the identification of biomarkers that can be used to predict response to chemotherapy in these patients.

Materials And Methods: The expression of EGFR, p53, Cyclin D1, p16, p21, p27, p-AKT, HIF-1α, Caspase 3 and BCL2 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 41 primary laryngeal/hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas of patients that received induction chemotherapy (cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) as part of their treatment.

Time trends in the prevalence of HPV in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas in northern Spain (1990-2009).

Recent studies support an important role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC), although the incidence varies widely depending on the geographic location and time period studied. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of HPV in a large cohort of OPSCC in northern Spain in the years 1990-2009. Clinical records and paraffin embedded tumor specimens of 248 consecutive patients surgically treated for OPSCC (140 tonsillar and 108 base of tongue) between 1990 and 2009 were retrieved.

Sinonasal desmoplastic small round cell tumor.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare malignancy with poor prognosis that generally involves the peritoneum. Only rare cases occur outside the abdomen. Its diagnosis can be achieved only by immunohistochemistry and cytogenetic studies.

Levels and patterns of expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor, glucose transporter-1 and CD105 in adenoid cystic carcinomas with high-grade transformation.

Aims: To compare the expression of proteins regulated by hypoxia between adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) with and without high-grade transformation (HGT).

Methods And Results:   In eight ACC-HGT and 18 ACC without HGT, expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) and microvascular density (MVD) by CD105 (a hypoxia-inducible protein expressed in angiogenic endothelial cells) was determined. Expression levels of HIF-1α and VEGF as well as CD105-MVD did not differ significantly between: (i) transformed and conventional areas (TA and CA, respectively) of ACC-HGT, (ii) CA and ordinary ACC.

Wnt-pathway activation in intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma (ITAC) is an epithelial cancer of the sinonasal sinuses that shows histological similarity to colorectal cancer (CRC) and share chronic inflammation as a possible etiological factor. The Wnt-pathway is one of the most important tumourigenic pathways in CRC. The aim of this study was to investigate if the Wnt-pathway is activated in ITAC.

DNA aneuploidy as a topographic malignant transformation pattern in a pleomorphic adenoma of long-term evolution: a case report.

Introduction: We present a case of long-term evolution of a submandibular pleomorphic adenoma. There is little information about topographic malignant transformation patterns of pleomorphic adenomas.

Case Presentation: We extensively analyze a giant submandibular mixed tumor of 25-year evolution in a 57-year-old Caucasian woman.

Cortactin and focal adhesion kinase as predictors of cancer risk in patients with laryngeal premalignancy.

Novel markers are needed to accurately predict the risk of malignant transformation in laryngeal premalignancies. We therefore investigated the clinical significance of cortactin (CTTN) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) during laryngeal tumorigenesis and their potential utility as cancer risk markers. CTTN and FAK protein expression and gene amplification were assessed in 82 patients with laryngeal dysplasia and correlated with clinicopathologic parameters and laryngeal cancer risk.

Benign lesions in mucosa adjacent to intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma.

Occupational exposure to wood dust is a strong risk factor for the development of intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma (ITAC); however, knowledge on possible precursor lesions or biomarkers is limited. Fifty-one samples of tumor-adjacent mucosa and 19 control samples of mucosa from the unaffected fossa of ITAC patients were evaluated for histological changes and p53 protein expression. Mild dysplasia was observed in 14%, cuboidal metaplasia in 57%, intestinal metaplasia in 8%, squamous metaplasia in 24%, and cylindrocellular hyperplasia in 53% of cases.

Down-regulation of annexin A1 and A2 protein expression in intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinomas.

Annexins are a structurally related family of calcium- and phospholipid-binding proteins that have been implicated in a broad range of molecular and cellular processes. The altered expression of individual annexins has been implicated in tumor development and progression. In this study the expression of annexin A1 and annexin A2 was studied by immunohistochemistry in intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma using a study set of 57 intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinomas represented on an intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma tissue microarray to assess its potential role in the pathogenesis of these tumors.

Genomic profiling of sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are rare tumors with no etiologic link to tobacco and alcohol, as opposed to other SCCs of the head and neck (HNSCC). Little is known about the genetic changes in sinonasal SCC.

Methods: DNA copy number changes of sinonasal SCC were analyzed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and microarray comparative genomic hybridization (maCGH), and results were related to clinicopathologic features.

Expression and clinical significance of the Kv3.4 potassium channel subunit in the development and progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

The concept of ion channels as membrane therapeutic targets and diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers has attracted growing attention. We therefore investigated the expression pattern and clinical significance of the Kv3.4 potassium channel subunit during the development and progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs).

A molecular risk score based on 4 functional pathways for advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

Despite improvement in the treatment of advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma, approximately 30% of patients relapse or die as result of the disease. Current predictive systems, determined by clinical and analytical parameters, fail to identify these high-risk patients accurately. We took a multistep approach to design a quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay to be applied to routine formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, integrating genes expressed by the tumor cells and their microenvironment.

Podoplanin expression in the development and progression of laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

Background: Podoplanin expression is attracting interest as a marker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. We therefore investigated the expression pattern and clinical significance of podoplanin during the development and progression of laryngeal carcinomas.

Results: Podoplanin expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from 84 patients with laryngeal premalignancies and 53 patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

Repair of rat mandibular bone defects by alveolar osteoblasts in a novel plasma-derived albumin scaffold.

Repair of bone deficiencies in the craniofacial skeleton remains a difficult clinical problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel albumin scaffold seeded with human alveolar osteoblasts and implanted into experimental mandibular defects. An experimental solid protein scaffold was prepared with human plasmatic albumin crossed with a glutaraldehyde-type agent.

Primary de novo intraosseous carcinoma: report of a new case.

Primary de novo intraosseous carcinoma of the jaws has been rarely reported. We present a new case of this unusual tumour and discuss its histopathological and clinical aspects. The subject was a 76-year-old man who was seen due to complaints of pain and the presence of gingival changes in the left mandible.

Synchronous oral squamous cell carcinoma and extramedullary plasmacytoma of the tonsil.

Extramedullary plasmacytoma (EP) is characterized by a neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells in a soft tissue site and arises particularly in the head and neck region. We report here an unusual case of maxillary sinus EP coexisting with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in a patient without any identified environmental risk or predisposing factors. The maxillary sinus mass proved to be radioresistant, with distant metastasis of EP in the tonsil and thoracic skin.

Oncogene amplification pattern in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary glands.

The aim of the present study was the search of molecular alterations (oncogene amplification or protein overexpression) that could have an impact on the outcome of ACC patients. For this purpose, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of primary ACC of 24 patients were collected. Oncogenic amplification status of six targets previously described to be involved in human carcinogenesis (ERBB1, KIT, PIK3CA, CCND1, MYC and MDM2) were studied by a PCR-based semiquantitative approach.

A TaqMan low-density array to predict outcome in advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma using paraffin-embedded samples.

Purpose: Despite major advances in the treatment of classic Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL), approximately 30% of patients in advanced stages may eventually die as result of the disease, and current methods to predict prognosis are rather unreliable. Thus, the application of robust techniques for the identification of biomarkers associated with treatment response is essential if new predictive tools are to be developed.

Experimental Design: We used gene expression data from advanced cHL patients to identify transcriptional patterns from the tumoral cells and their nonneoplastic microenvironment, associated with lack of maintained treatment response.

Non-sebaceous lymphadenoma of the parotid gland: immunohistochemical study and DNA ploidy analysis.

Nonsebaceous lymphadenoma (NSL) is an unusual benign salivary gland tumor characterized by a predominant lymphoid background, dense lymphoid infiltrate, and absence of sebaceous differentiation. To our knowledge, only 10 previous cases have been reported in the literature. We report an additional case of NSL arising in the parotid gland in 58-year-old female patient.

Chondrosarcoma of the temporomandibular joint. A case report and review of the literature.

Chondrosarcoma is a malignant tumor characterized by the formation of cartilage, but not bone, by tumor cells. Only 5% to 10% of chondrosarcomas occur in the head and neck, representing 0.1% of all head and neck neoplasms, with the larynx and the maxillo-nasal region being the most common sites.