Quality of life assessment in adult spinal muscular atrophy patients treated with nusinersen.

Objective: To retrospectively evaluate quality of life (QoL) in a large multicenter cohort of adult patients affected by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) during nusinersen treatment.

Methods: We included adult (≥ 18 years) patients clinically and genetically defined as SMA2, SMA3 and SMA4, who started nusinersen treatment in adulthood. QoL was rated by the Individualized Neuromuscular Quality of Life (INQoL) questionnaire.

Indication to post-operative radiotherapy for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma: what's new in the depth of infiltration (DOI) era?

Objective: The last edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC eighth) has introduced the depth of infiltration (DOI) as a new prognostic parameter in oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (OCSCCs). The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of stage migration on the indication to post-operative radiotherapy (PORT).

Methods: OCSCCs treated at two institutions between 2014 and 2019 were retrieved.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on head and neck cancer diagnosis: data from a single referral center, South Tyrol, northern Italy.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on new diagnoses of head and neck cancer (HNC) in South Tyrol, northern Italy in terms of the number of new diagnoses and worsening disease stage due to diagnostic delay.

Methods: Patients were divided into two groups: the control group with a first diagnosis of HNC in 10 months before the national lockdown (March 9th, 2020) and the study group with a first diagnosis of HNC in 10 months after lockdown.

Results: A total of 124 patients were included in the study.

The Impact of Post-Operative Radiotherapy in Early Stage (pT1-pT2N0M0) Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Era of DOI.

This study investigated the role of depth of infiltration (DOI) as an independent prognosticator in early stage (T1-T2N0M0) oral cavity tumors and to evaluate the need of postoperative radiotherapy in the case of patients upstaged to pT3 for DOI > 10 mm in the absence of other risk factors. : We performed a retrospective analysis on patients treated with surgery and re-staged according to the 8th edition of malignant tumors classification (TNM). The role of DOI as well as other clinical/pathological features was investigated at both univariable and multivariable analyses on overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS), relapse free survival (RFS), and local RFS.

Free Periosteal Flaps with Scaffold: An Overlooked Armamentarium for Maxillary and Mandibular Reconstruction.

Introduction: Head and neck bone reconstruction is a challenging surgical scenario. Although several strategies have been described in the literature, bone free flaps (BFFs) have become the preferred technique for large defects. Revascularized free periosteal flaps (FPFs) with support scaffold represents a possible alternative in compromised patient, BFF failure, or relapsing cancers as salvage treatment.

Oral cancer in non-smoker non-drinker patients. Could comparative pet oncology help to understand risk factors and pathogenesis?

During the last decades there has been a progressive increase in proportion of incidence of oral cancer not related to a known etiologic factor, such as the so-called "oral cancer in young", a relevant tumor in non-smoker non-drinker (NSND) patients. The topic is matter of long standing debate, and adequate study models to analyze this entity are lacking. Spontaneous oral cancer in companion animals such as dogs and cats, presents more clinical and biological similarities with the human oral cancer than any other animal model.

Modular Approach to Open Partial Horizontal Laryngectomy: Step-by-Step Anatomic Dissection.

Open partial laryngectomies still play an important role in contemporary conservative management of laryngeal cancer. A comprehensive and systematic classification of open partial horizontal laryngectomies (OPHLs) was presented by the European Laryngological Society working committee in 2014. The aim of this video is to show the main surgical steps in OPHL using a cadaveric dissection and to explain the modular approach for removal of laryngeal tumors.

The Role of Clips in Preventing Delayed Bleeding After Colorectal Polyp Resection: An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.

Background & Aims: Nonpedunculated colorectal polyps are normally endoscopically removed to prevent neoplastic progression. Delayed bleeding is the most common major adverse event. Clipping the resection defect has been suggested to reduce delayed bleedings.

Step-by-Step Cadaver Dissection and Surgical Technique for Compartmental Tongue and Floor of Mouth Resection.

Background: The aim of oral cancer surgery is tumor removal within clear margins of healthy tissue: the latter definition in the literature, however, may vary between 1 and 2 cm, and should be intended in the three dimensions, which further complicates its precise measurement. Moreover, the biological behavior of tongue and floor of mouth cancer can be unpredictable and often eludes the previously mentioned safe surgical margins concept due to the complexity of tongue anatomy, the intricated arrangements of its intrinsic and extrinsic muscle fibers, and the presence of rich neurovascular and lymphatic networks within it. These structures may act as specific pathways of loco-regional tumor spread, allowing the neoplasm to escape beyond its visible macroscopic boundaries.

The T-N tract involvement as a new prognostic factor for PORT in locally advanced oral cavity tumors.

Objective: The space comprised between tumor and neck lymph nodes (T-N tract) is one of the main routes of tumor spread in oral cavity tumors. Aim of the study was to investigate the impact of T-N tract involvement on the postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Patients (pts) treated between 2000 and 2016 with indication to PORT were retrospectively retrieved.

Endoscopic-assisted multi-portal compartmental resection of the masticatory space in oral cancer: Anatomical study and preliminary clinical experience.

Objectives: To present an anatomical cadaver dissection study and our preliminary surgical experience with endoscopic-assisted multi-portal compartmental resection of the masticatory space (MS) in locally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) of the retromolar area.

Materials And Methods: Two fresh-frozen cadaver heads were dissected in the Laboratory of Anatomy to define the surgical steps of an endoscopic-assisted multi-portal compartmental approach to the MS. After this preclinical anatomical study, patients affected by locally advanced OSCC originating from the retromolar area with extension to the MS were prospectively enrolled and operated at two Italian referral centers for head and neck cancer between October 2019 and May 2020.

Renovating the Old Fashion: The "Functional Technique" for Harvesting Pectoralis Major Muscle Flap in Head and Neck Reconstruction.

Although free flaps are widely recognized as a gold standard, pectoralis major muscle flap (PMMF) still remains a valuable workhorse in head and neck reconstruction. The technique we describe in the present paper allows to harvesting the PMMF with an accurate and complete isolation of the pedicle, sparing the superior sternum-acromion muscular fibers.

Role of the temporoparietal fascia free flap in salvage total laryngectomy.

The procedure for salvage total laryngectomy (STL) is burdened by a high rate of postoperative complications as a result of delayed wound healing in previously irradiated tissue. Several observational studies have investigated the role of prophylactic vascularized flaps to aid pharyngeal closure after STL and prevent the development of PCF. The use of a temporoparietal fascia free flap (TFFF) as an overlay flap for STL has been described previously in two published studies and both sets of authors agreed that the most obvious benefit of the TFFF in STL is a reduced PCF rate with low site morbidity and good functional outcomes.

Was Tiepolo's wife affected by Graves' disease?

Tiepolo (1696-1770) was an Italian Rococo painter and printmaker, and is now considered to be one of the most important members of the 18th-century Venetian school. The muse that lent her face to Cleopatra and inspired many Tiepolo's works was his beloved wife, Maria Cecilia Guardi. Because of her appearance, we cannot rule out that she suffered from Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition that is characterized by goiter, exophthalmos and restlessness.