Transoral laser microsurgery for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A paradigm shift in therapeutic approach.

Background: The contemporary treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an area of debate. We report outcomes of a minimally invasive approach involving transoral laser microsurgery (TLM).

Methods: A consecutive series of patients (n = 153) undergoing primary TLM for oropharyngeal SCC from 2006 to 2013 was studied.

Loss of MTBP expression is associated with reduced survival in a biomarker-defined subset of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Background: Recent genetic studies have implicated p53 mutation as a significant risk factor for therapeutic failure in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). However, in a recent meta-analysis in the literature of p53 from major anatomical subsites (larynx, oral cavity, oropharynx/hypopharynx), associations between patient survival and p53 status were ambiguous.

Methods: The authors examined a cohort of SCCHNs using a previously developed biomarker combination that likely predicts p53 status based on p53/MDM2 expression levels determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Extensive neck node metastases (N3) in head and neck squamous carcinoma: is radical treatment warranted?

Objective: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients with N3 neck disease at presentation are the minority. Prognosis for such patients is poor, but there is disagreement about which treatment policy is best adopted. The aim of this study was to identify which groups of patients are best offered radical treatment, examining factors of association, prognosis, and survival.