Claudin-1 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Introduction: The objective response rate to immunotherapy is limited in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients, whose prognosis is still dismal. Few prognostic factors are clinically available, mostly related to patient or disease characteristics. Gene expression signatures offer better prognostic abilities but are mainly used in research.

MRI radiomics in head and neck cancer from reproducibility to combined approaches.

The clinical applicability of radiomics in oncology depends on its transferability to real-world settings. However, the absence of standardized radiomics pipelines combined with methodological variability and insufficient reporting may hamper the reproducibility of radiomic analyses, impeding its translation to clinics. This study aimed to identify and replicate published, reproducible radiomic signatures based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for prognosis of overall survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.

Statistics of maximum photon penetration depth in a two-layer diffusive medium.

We present numerical results for the probability density function () and for the mean value of photon maximum penetration depth ‹› in a two-layer diffusive medium. Both time domain and continuous wave regime are considered with several combinations of the optical properties (absorption coefficient, reduced scattering coefficient) of the two layers, and with different geometrical configurations (source detector distance, thickness of the upper layer). Practical considerations on the design of time domain and continuous wave systems are derived.

Association of a gene-expression subtype to outcome and treatment response in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved and currently used in the clinical management of recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) patients. The reported benefit in clinical trials is variable and heterogeneous. Our study aims at exploring and comparing the predictive role of gene-expression signatures with classical biomarkers for immunotherapy-treated R/M HNSCC patients in a multicentric phase IIIb trial.

Dietary intervention for tertiary prevention in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma survivors: clinical and translational results of a randomized phase II trial.

Background: There is a strong need for preventive approaches to reduce the incidence of recurrence, second cancers, and late toxicities in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) survivors. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess a dietary intervention as a non-expensive and non-toxic method of tertiary prevention in HNSCC survivors.

Methods: Eligible participants were disease-free patients with HNSCC in follow-up after curative treatments.

Multistep tumor genetic evolution and changes in immunogenicity trigger immune-mediated disease eradication in stage IV melanoma: lessons from a single case.

Durable remissions are observed in 10%-20% of treated patients with advanced metastatic melanoma but the factors associated with long-term complete clinical responses are largely unknown. Here, we report the molecular characteristics of tumor evolution during disease progression along a 9-year clinical course in a patient with advanced disseminated melanoma who received different treatments, including trametinib, ipilimumab, radiation, vemurafenib, surgical tumor debulking and a second ipilimumab course, ultimately achieving complete long-term disease remission.Longitudinal analyses of therapies-resistant metastatic tumors revealed the effects of different treatments on tumor's microenvironment and immunogenicity, ultimately creating a milieu favorable to immunotherapy response.

Hedgehog Inhibitors Beyond Clinical Complete Response in Basal Cell Carcinoma: Should I Stop or Should I Go?

Introduction: In advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the issue of whether Hedgehog inhibitors (HHIs) should be stopped or not after clinical complete response (cCR) achievement remains an unmet clinical need.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective, multicenter study across 7 Italian dermato-oncology units including patients with BCC who continued vismodegib after cCR between 2012 and 2019. We assessed the relationship between the duration of vismodegib intake (days to cCR [DTCR], days to stop after cCR [DTS], total treatment days [TTD]), and disease-free survival (DFS).

Multidisciplinary management of pregnancy-associated and early post-partum head and neck cancer patients.

Background: Pregnancy-associated cancer (PAC) occurs during pregnancy or within 12 months after the delivery. Head and neck cancer (HNC) during pregnancy is infrequent, therefore diagnosis and personalized therapy are intricate.

Methods: We investigated outcomes of 15 PAC patients (5 salivary, 4 nasopharyngeal, 3 thyroid, 2 oral cavity, one HPV-related carcinoma) diagnosed in the period 2005-2019.

Head and neck cancers survival in Europe, Taiwan, and Japan: results from RARECAREnet Asia based on a privacy-preserving federated infrastructure.

Background: The head and neck cancers (HNCs) incidence differs between Europe and East Asia. Our objective was to determine whether survival of HNC also differs between European and Asian countries.

Methods: We used population-based cancer registry data to calculate 5-year relative survival (RS) for the oral cavity, hypopharynx, larynx, nasal cavity, and major salivary gland in Europe, Taiwan, and Japan.

Pre-treatment risk factors to predict early cisplatin-related nephrotoxicity in locally advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with chemoradiation: A single Institution experience.

Objectives: Cisplatin is essential in the curative treatment of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC) patients. The assessment of risk factors to predict an early cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity could help in better managing one of the most relevant cisplatin-related dose-limiting factors.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively collected data of LA-HNSCC patients treated at our Institution from 2008 to 2019.

A clinicogenomic model including GARD predicts outcome for radiation treated patients with HPV+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Treatment decision-making in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) includes clinical stage, HPV status, and smoking history. Despite improvements in staging with separation of HPV-positive and -negative OPSCC in AJCC 8th edition (AJCC8), patients are largely treated with a uniform approach, with recent efforts focused on de-intensification in low-risk patients. We have previously shown, in a pooled analysis, that the genomic adjusted radiation dose (GARD) is predictive of radiation treatment benefit and can be used to guide RT dose selection.

NUT carcinoma of the submandibular gland: A case report.

Background: NUT carcinoma (NUTc) is a rare and aggressive malignant epithelial tumor characterized by rearrangement of the NUT gene on chromosome 15q14.

Methods: In this article, we present the fifth case worldwide of a young woman affected by a NUTc arising from a submandibular gland, presenting as a rapidly evolving mass. She underwent a right scialoadenectomy and received the initial diagnosis of high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Radiation-Induced Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background: Radiation therapy (RT) is a mainstay for the treatment of head and neck (HN) cancers, with 80% of patients receiving such treatment. Radiation-induced malignancies represent a life-threatening long-term effect of RT, with an incidence of 0.5% to 15%.

MRI-based radiomic prognostic signature for locally advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: development, testing and comparison with genomic prognostic signatures.

Background: . At present, the prognostic prediction in advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) is based on the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system, and the most used imaging modality in these patients is magnetic resonance image (MRI). With the aim to improve the prediction, we developed an MRI-based radiomic signature as a prognostic marker for overall survival (OS) in OCSCC patients and compared it with published gene expression signatures for prognosis of OS in head and neck cancer patients, replicated herein on our OCSCC dataset.

Prognostic radiomic signature for head and neck cancer: Development and validation on a multi-centric MRI dataset.

Background And Purpose: Prognosis in locally advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) is currently based on TNM staging system and tumor subsite. However, quantitative imaging features (i.e.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors and Carbon iON radiotherapy In solid Cancers with stable disease (ICONIC).

ICONIC is a multicenter, open-label, nonrandomized phase II clinical trial aiming to assess the feasibility and clinical activity of the addition of carbon ion radiotherapy to immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer patients who have obtained disease stability with pembrolizumab administered as per standard-of-care. The primary end point is objective response rate, and the secondary end points are safety, survival and disease control rate. Translational research is an exploratory aim.

The observational clinical registry (cohort design) of the European Reference Network on Rare Adult Solid Cancers: The protocol for the rare head and neck cancers.

Introduction: Care for head and neck cancers is complex in particular for the rare ones. Knowledge is limited and histological heterogeneity adds complexity to the rarity. There is a wide consensus that to support clinical research on rare cancer, clinical registries should be developed within networks specializing in rare cancers.

A multicenter randomized trial for quality of life evaluation by non-invasive intelligent tools during post-curative treatment follow-up for head and neck cancer: Clinical study protocol.

Patients surviving head and neck cancer (HNC) suffer from high physical, psychological, and socioeconomic burdens. Achieving cancer-free survival with an optimal quality of life (QoL) is the primary goal for HNC patient management. So, maintaining lifelong surveillance is critical.

HER2 status in recurrent/metastatic androgen receptor overexpressing salivary gland carcinoma patients.

Background: Overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) occurs in almost 25-30% of androgen receptor (AR)-positive salivary gland carcinomas (SGCs), notably salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) and adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified (NOS). In the last years, several studies have reported the clinical benefit of HER2 directed therapies in this setting. This work aims at describing the natural history of AR-positive recurrent/metastatic (R/M) SGC patients, based on HER2 amplification status.

Fluence rate directly derived from photon pathlengths: a tool for Monte Carlo simulations in biomedical optics.

In biomedical optics, the mean fluence rate of photons, assessed in a sub-volume of a propagating medium, is classically obtained in Monte Carlo simulations by taking into account the power deposited by the absorbed photons in the sub-volume. In the present contribution, we propose and analytically demonstrate an alternative method based on the assessment of the mean pathlength traveled by all the photons inside the sub-volume. Few practical examples of its applications are given.

The Interplay between Age and Viral Status in EBV-Related Nasopharyngeal and HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Carcinoma Patients.

Background. The aim of this work was to analyze the interplay between age and viral status on the outcomes in loco-regionally advanced oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and different chemotherapy combinations. Methods.