Retraction notice to: Minimal Scar Dissection for Partial Parotidectomy via a Modified Cosmetic Incision and an Advanced Wound Closure Method [YJOMS 77 (2019) 1317.E1-1317.E9].

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The authors have duplicated an image that previously appeared in: J Clin Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg (China) 2018 https://doi.org/10.13201/j.issn.1001-1781.2018.16.011 One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of JOMS that this was not detected during the submission process.

Inhibition of USP4 attenuates pathological scarring by downregulation of the TGF­ß/Smad signaling pathway.

Pathological scarring is a result of the hypertrophy of scar tissue during tissue repair following trauma. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of ubiquitin­specific protease 4 (USP4) silencing on pathological scarring, and to evaluate the mechanistic basis for the effect. An MTT assay was used to assess cell viability. Immunoprecipitation (IP) was used to determine ubiquitination levels of the TGF­ß receptor (TßR)I and Smad7. Tumor formation was assessed by injecting keloid fibroblasts. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to detect pathological changes in tumor tissue. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis assays were used to evaluate the expression levels of TßRI and Smad7. Compared with the untreated control animals, cell viability and the expression of TßRI and Smad7 increased significantly in animals treated with TGF­ß. Short hairpin RNA for USP4 (shUSP4) decreased the cell viability of negative control cells, TGF­ß­induced cellular proliferation, and the expression of TßRI and Smad7. IP experiments indicated that the ubiquitination level of TßRI was decreased following USP4 silencing. There was no remarkable difference in the structure of scar tissue among the various animal groups at 14 days following treatment, while the necrotic area of the scar tissue in the shUSP4 and vialinin A (USP inhibitor)­treated animals increased significantly at the 28th and 42nd day compared with the control animals. At days 14, 28 and 42, the expression levels of TßRI and Smad7 in the shUSP4 and vialinin A­treated animals were significantly decreased compared with the control animals (P<0.05). In summary, interference with or inhibition of USP4 prevented the activity of the TGF­ß/Smad pathway signaling and inhibited the formation of pathological scars.

Minimal Scar Dissection for Partial Parotidectomy via a Modified Cosmetic Incision and an Advanced Wound Closure Method.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of the modified cosmetic incision (MCI) and advanced wound closure method in partial parotidectomy by comparison with the modified Blair incision (MBI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study retrospectively enrolled 44 patients who underwent partial parotidectomy for benign parotid tumors. These patients were divided into 2 groups: MCI group and MBI group. The MCI surgical procedures were performed via a minimal facelift incision with no preauricular incision, postauricular and hairline incision, or extensive hairline incision and an advanced wound closure method, using continuous absorbable intradermal sutures and skin adhesive. The MBI surgical procedures were performed via a conventional MBI and standard transdermal, interrupted, nonabsorbable suturing approach. The operation variables and the cosmetic results of the patients in each group were compared. RESULTS: A total of 23 patients underwent the MCI and advanced wound closure approach and 21 patients underwent the MBI and standard wound closure approach. No significant differences were found in gender, mean age, tumor size, or tumor site between the 2 groups (P > .05). No differences between groups were seen in operative time and intraoperative blood loss volume (P > .05). Several postoperative complications, such as facial paralysis, Frey syndrome, salivary fistula, infection, or tumor recurrence, did not differ between the 2 groups (P > .05). However, postoperative drainage volume in the MCI group was significantly lower than that in the MBI group (P < .01). Moreover, the postoperative cosmetic satisfaction, skin numbness, and scar evaluation results in the MCI group were better than those in the MBI group (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: MCI combined with continuous absorbable intradermal sutures and skin adhesive for partial parotidectomy is technically feasible and safe and could produce excellent cosmetic outcomes in selected patients with benign parotid tumors.

Tivantinib (ARQ-197) exhibits anti-tumor activity with down-regulation of FAK in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and the 5 years survival rate of the patients is about 60% in the USA, due to acquired chemotherapeutic resistance and metastasis of the disease. In this study, we found that tivantinib, a selective MET inhibitor, suppresses OCSS cell proliferation and colony formation, however, anti-tumor activities induced by tivantinib are independent of the inhibition of MET signaling pathway. In addition, tivantinib cause G2/M cell cycle arrest and caspases-dependent apoptosis in OSCC cell lines. We also found that tivantinib dose-dependently suppressed the activation and expression of FAK. In all, these data suggested that tivantinib may be developed as a chemotherapeutic agent to effectively treat certain cancers including OSCC.