Mast Cell Infiltration and Subtype Promote Malignant Transformation of Oral Precancer and Progression of Oral Cancer.

The role of mast cell (MC), a common myeloid-derived immune cell, in the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate MC infiltration in oral precancer and oral cancer. The evaluation of immune cell infiltration and its association with prognosis in OSCC used RNA sequencing and multiple public datasets. Multiplex immunofluorescence was used to explore the infiltration of MC in the microenvironment of OSCC and oral precancer and the interaction with CD8+ cells. The role of MC in OSCC progression was verified by in vivo experiments. The resting MC infiltration was mainly present in oral precancer, whereas activated MC infiltration was significantly higher in OSCC. Activated MC was associated with malignant transformation of oral precancer and poor prognosis of OSCC. In vivo studies showed that MC promoted the growth of OSCC. The infiltration of activated MC was negatively correlated with the infiltration of CD8+ T cells. The subtype of MC containing tryptase without chymase (MCT) was significantly higher in OSCC compared with oral precancer and was associated with poor survival. Furthermore, spatial distance analysis revealed a greater distance between MCT and CD8+ cells, which was also linked to poor prognosis in OSCC. Cox regression analysis showed that MCT could be a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. This study provides new insights into the role of MC in the immune microenvironment of OSCC. It might enhance the immunotherapeutic efficacy of OSCC by developing targeted therapies against MC. SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, we investigated the role of mast cells (MC) in oral precancer and oral cancer and demonstrated that MCs are involved in oral cancer progression and may serve as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker. It might improve the immunotherapeutic efficacy through developing targeted therapies against MCs.

Head and neck carcinoma in children: A clinicopathological study of 42 cases.

Background/purpose: Cancer is an important part of the global burden of childhood diseases. Head and neck carcinoma in children is rare and related research is limited. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features of childhood head and neck carcinoma. Materials and methods: Forty-two cases of childhood head and neck carcinoma treated in our institution were reviewed and analyzed. Results: Median age overall was 11 years. Twenty-three patients (54.8%) were male and 19 (45.2%) were female. Parotid gland location was most common (54.8%). Mucoepidermoid carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma were the most common histological types (57.1% and 11.9%, respectively). Two patients had a history of bone marrow transplantation and two had a history of odontogenic keratocyst. The recurrence rate after treatment was 8.6%. Conclusion: Early diagnosis and treatment and close follow-up of childhood head and neck carcinoma are warranted to prevent recurrence and improve clinical outcome.

Bibliometric analysis of immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background/purpose: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a serious disease endangering the health of patients, and the application of immunotherapy in HNSCC is gradually emerging. However, there is no bibliometric analysis in this research field. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the knowledge structure and research hotspots of immunotherapy for HNSCC. Materials and methods: Publications related to immunotherapy for HNSCC from 2002 to 2021 were searched in the Web of Science Core Collection database. The software VOSviewers, CiteSpace, and the R package 'bibliometrix' were used to perform this bibliometric analysis. Results: A total of 1297 publications were from 63 countries, led by the USA and China. The number of publications related to immunotherapy for HNSCC has increased rapidly from 2015. University of Pittsburgh and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are the main research institutions. Oral Oncology is the most popular journal in this field, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology is the most highly co-cited journal. These publications were from 7569 authors, with Robert L. Ferris publishing the most papers and being the most frequently co-cited. Clinical trials related to nivolumab and pembrolizumab have attracted wide attention. 'Immune checkpoint inhibitors', 'human papillomavirus', 'programmed cell death-ligand 1', and 'programmed cell death protein 1' are the main keywords of emerging research hotspots. Conclusion: This study presents a comprehensive summary of the trends and development of immunotherapy for HNSCC, identifies the research frontier and hotspot direction, and could provide a valuable reference for researchers in this field.

Emerging Role of High Glucose Levels in Cancer Progression and Therapy.

Extensive research has indicated that high glucose levels play an important role in cancer. A high glycaemic index, glycaemic load diet, high sugar intake, high blood glucose and diabetes mellitus all increase the risk of cancer. Various signals are involved in high glucose-induced tumorigenesis, cancer proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and multidrug resistance. Reactive oxygen species might be important targets in cancer progression that are induced by high glucose levels. Drugs such as metformin and resveratrol may inhibit high glucose-induced cancer. As the impact of high glucose levels on cancer progression and therapy is a novel finding, further research is required.