Alcohol use among populations with autism spectrum disorder: narrative systematic review.

Background: Alcohol use in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is under-researched. Previous reviews have explored substance use as a whole, but this neglects individual characteristics unique to different substances. Alcohol use in non-clinical samples is associated with diverse responses.

Investigations for Suspected Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary (HNSCCUP): A National Cohort Study.

Objectives: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma from unknown primary (HNSCCUP) is a rare and challenging condition. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic pathways of suspected HNSCCUP patients in the United Kingdom.

Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted, over 5 years from January 2015, in UK Head and Neck centres of consecutive adults undergoing 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET-CT (PET-CT) within 3 months of diagnosis with metastatic cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

The Burden of Recurrent Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Across the United Kingdom: Results From a National Snapshot Study.

Background: To investigate the management of recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (rHNSCC) and describe survival outcomes.

Methods: Post hoc subgroup analysis of a retrospective national observational cohort was conducted. All patients with rHNSCC who received a definitive treatment decision between September 1, 2021 and November 30, 2021 were included.

Patient and Caregiver Experience of Diagnosis, Treatment, and Living With Recurrent Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Importance: The management of recurrent oropharyngeal cancer (rOPC) is complex. Curative options carry considerable risk of morbidity with overall poor prognosis. Little data exist on function and quality of life (QoL) outcomes for noncurative treatments.

A Review of Contemporary Image Guidance Techniques in Head and Neck Cancer.

Background: Traditional head and neck cancer treatment involves open surgery, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and conventional radiotherapy planning. Emerging techniques aim to improve precision and reduce associated toxicity and functional impairment in current practice. This review article describes four such adaptations in image guidance, tailored to next generation therapies.

Technology for fast-tracking high-risk head and neck cancer referrals: Co-designing with patients.

Background: Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) is the eighth most prevalent global cancer. Timely recognition of symptoms is crucial for reducing mortality rates. The EVolution of a patiEnt-REported symptom-based risk stratification sySTem to redesign the suspected Head and Neck cancer referral pathway (EVEREST-HN) study aims to develop and evaluate a risk stratification tool using patient reported symptoms, which will be populated remotely in the community before the patient is seen by the clinician to hasten HNC diagnosis.

Nomenclature of the symptoms of head and neck cancer: a systematic scoping review.

Introduction: Evolution of a patient-reported symptom-based risk stratification system to redesign the suspected head and neck cancer (HNC) referral pathway (EVEREST-HN) will use a broad and open approach to the nomenclature and symptomatology. It aims to capture and utilise the patient reported symptoms in a modern way to identify patients' clinical problems more effectively and risk stratify the patient.

Method: The review followed the PRISMA checklist for scoping reviews.

Survival outcomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary: A national cohort study.

Introduction: To investigate factors influencing survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary (HNSCCUP).

Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted, over 5 years from January 2015, in UK Head and Neck centres, of consecutive adults undergoing 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET-CT within 3 months of diagnosis with metastatic cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Patients treated as HNSCCUP underwent survival analysis, stratified by neck dissection and/or radiotherapy to the ipsilateral neck, and by HPV status.

Qualitative study exploring the design of a patient-reported symptom-based risk stratification system for suspected head and neck cancer referrals: protocol for work packages 1 and 2 within the EVEREST-HN programme.

Introduction: Between 2009/2010 and 2019/2020, England witnessed an increase in suspected head and neck cancer (sHNC) referrals from 140 to 404 patients per 100 000 population. 1 in 10 patients are not seen within the 2-week target, contributing to patient anxiety. We will develop a pathway for sHNC referrals, based on the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator.

New robotic platform for transoral robotic surgery: an IDEAL stage 0 study.

Objectives: This study aims to assess the feasibility to perform transoral robotic surgery (TORS) with a new robotic platform, the Versius Surgical System (CMR Surgical, UK) in a preclinical cadaveric setting in accordance to stage 0 of the IDEAL-D framework.

Design: IDEAL stage 0 preclinical assessment of the Versius Robotic System in TORS in human cadavers.

Setting: All procedures were performed in a simulated operating theatre environment at a UK surgical training centre.

Monoclonal Antibodies for Targeted Fluorescence-Guided Surgery: A Review of Applicability across Multiple Solid Tumors.

This study aims to review the status of the clinical use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that have completed or are in ongoing clinical trials for targeted fluorescence-guided surgery (T-FGS) for the intraoperative identification of the tumor margins of extra-hematological solid tumors. For each of them, the targeted antigen, the mAb generic/commercial name and format, and clinical indications are presented, together with utility, doses, and the timing of administration. Based on the current scientific evidence in humans, the top three mAbs that could be prepared in a GMP-compliant bank ready to be delivered for surgical purposes are proposed to speed up the translation to the operating room and produce a few readily available "off-the-shelf" injectable fluorescent probes for safer and more effective solid tumor resection.

Vascularized Tissue to Reduce Fistula After Salvage Total Laryngectomy: A Network Meta-analysis.

Objective: Salvage laryngectomy is more predisposed to complications than primary operations, with pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) being among the most challenging to manage. Vascularized flaps are increasingly employed during salvage laryngectomy, with a previous review finding a PCF incidence of 31.2% and 22.

CompARE: study protocol for a phase III randomised controlled platform trial comparing alternative regimens for escalating treatment of intermediate and high-risk oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Patients with intermediate and high-risk oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) have poorer response to standard treatment and poorer overall survival compared to low-risk OPC. CompARE is designed to test alternative approaches to intensified treatment for these patients to improve survival.

Methods: CompARE is a pragmatic phase III, open-label, multicenter randomised controlled trial with an adaptive multi-arm, multi-stage design and an integrated QuinteT Recruitment Intervention.

Step Serial Sectioning in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary.

Importance: Patients with suspected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary (HNSCCUP) may undergo tonsillectomy and tongue base mucosectomy (TBM) to help identify clinicoradiologically occult primary disease. It is hypothesized that when these diagnostic specimens are analyzed, conventional histopathological (CH) techniques risk missing small primary tumors that may be hidden in the tissue blocks.

Objective: To establish the outcomes of a step serial sectioning (SSS) histopathological technique vs CH when analyzing diagnostic tissue specimens from TBM and tonsillectomy performed for HNSCCUP.

Performance of artificial intelligence chatbots in sleep medicine certification board exams: ChatGPT versus Google Bard.

Purpose: To conduct a comparative performance evaluation of GPT-3.5, GPT-4 and Google Bard in self-assessment questions at the level of the American Sleep Medicine Certification Board Exam.

Methods: A total of 301 text-based single-best-answer multiple choice questions with four answer options each, across 10 categories, were included in the study and transcribed as inputs for GPT-3.

Transoral robotic surgery without adjuvant therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between surgical margins and local recurrence.

Background: Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is increasingly employed in the management of oropharyngeal cancer without adjuvant treatment. Attaining safe surgical margins is paramount to preventing local recurrence (LR), but the necessary surgical margin dimension remains contentious.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting margin status and LR following TORS without adjuvant therapy for primary OPSCC.

Artificial intelligence chatbots as sources of patient education material for obstructive sleep apnoea: ChatGPT versus Google Bard.

Purpose: To perform the first head-to-head comparative evaluation of patient education material for obstructive sleep apnoea generated by two artificial intelligence chatbots, ChatGPT and its primary rival Google Bard.

Methods: Fifty frequently asked questions on obstructive sleep apnoea in English were extracted from the patient information webpages of four major sleep organizations and categorized as input prompts. ChatGPT and Google Bard responses were selected and independently rated using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool-Printable (PEMAT-P) Auto-Scoring Form by two otolaryngologists, with a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) and a special interest in sleep medicine and surgery.

Saline-aided ultrasound-guided transoral biopsy of retropharyngeal nodes in head and neck cancer: A feasibility study of five patients.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of the novel technique of intra-cavitary saline-aided ultrasound (US) guided transoral biopsy or excision of retropharyngeal nodes.

Methods: We followed the IDEAL 2a framework to develop this technique. Procedures were performed between July 2020 and July 2022 at a tertiary head and neck center.

Complications following salvage transoral robotic surgery with and without reconstruction: A systematic review of the literature.

Background: Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has been used in the salvage setting for head and neck cancers both with and without reconstruction. The complications of salvage TORS and the effect of reconstruction on complications has not been studied.

Objective: To study the complications of salvage TORS and examine the effect of reconstruction on complication rates.

Functional and quality-of-life outcomes following salvage surgery for recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are frequently managed with salvage surgery, but the impact these operations have on function and quality-of-life (QoL) is understudied. This review aimed to provide a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the functional and QoL effects of salvage surgical procedures.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted of studies reporting QoL and function following salvage HNSCC resections.

Incidentally detected 18 F-FDG PET-CT-avid thyroid nodules in patients with advanced malignancy: long-term oncological outcomes from a single-centre retrospective cohort.

Objectives: In this retrospective study, we assessed the clinical outcomes of patients with a primary malignancy who had incidentally detected thyroid avidity on their staging 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET-computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET-CT) examinations.

Methods: A focused retrospective search was made using a Radiology Information System to identify only patients with positive thyroid nodules on their 18 F-FDG PET-CT imaging between January 2012 and December 2017. Patient demographics, principal oncological diagnosis, and stage were recorded.

Diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative margin assessment techniques in surgery for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

Background: Positive margins following head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) surgery lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Existing Intraoperative Margin Assessment (IMA) techniques are not widely used due to limitations in sampling technique, time constraints and resource requirements. We performed a meta-analysis of the diagnostic performance of existing IMA techniques in HNSCC, providing a benchmark against which emerging techniques may be judged.