Clinicopathologic Analysis of Sinonasal Inverted Papilloma, with Focus on Human Papillomavirus Infection Status.

Sinonasal inverted papilloma (SNIP) can recur; however, the factors related to tumor recurrence remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze risk factors, including human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, as well as other factors associated with SNIP recurrence. Thirty-two patients who were diagnosed with SNIP and underwent surgery between 2010 and 2019 were enrolled: 24 men and 8 women, with a mean age of 59.2 years. The mean follow-up was 57.3 months. Demographics and information about history of smoking, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, allergic rhinitis, alcohol consumption, tumor stage, surgical approach, and recurrence were reviewed retrospectively. Specimens were investigated using polymerase chain reaction to detect HPV DNA (high-risk subtypes: 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 52b, and 58; low-risk subtypes: 6 and 11). Seven patients (21.9%) experienced recurrence. HPV DNA was detected in five (15.6%) patients (high-risk subtypes, n = 2; low-risk subtypes, n = 3). Patients with recurrence of SNIP had a higher proportion of young adults and displayed higher rates of HPV infection, DM, and advanced tumor stage than those without recurrence. HPV infection, young adulthood, DM, and advanced tumor stage could be associated with a high recurrence rate, which suggests that patients with these risk factors could require close follow-up after surgery.

Underwater posterior nasal neurectomy compared to resection of peripheral branches of posterior nerve in severe allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: Several surgical procedures for posterior nasal neurectomy have been reported, but no conclusion has been reached about which procedure is best. OBJECTIVES: The aim is to evaluate the improvement in symptom medication scores for resection of the posterior nasal nerve trunk in an underwater environment, with submucous inferior turbinectomy, without injuring the sphenopalatine artery (SPA) in severe allergic rhinitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Improvements in symptom medication scores were retrospectively compared between 27 consecutive cases who underwent resection of the posterior nasal nerve trunk with turbinoplasty in an underwater environment without injuring the SPA (Underwater group) and, as a historical control, 16 consecutive cases who underwent resection of peripheral branches of the posterior nasal nerve with turbinoplasty (Control group). RESULTS: The improvements in symptom medication scores in the Underwater group were significantly better than in the Control group (3.07 vs. 1.96, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: By using underwater posterior nasal neurectomy, we can easily and safely resect the posterior nasal nerve trunk under a clear surgical view without injuring the SPA. This technique with submucous inferior turbinectomy may, more than resection of peripheral branches of the posterior nasal nerve, be able to reduce the medication score and symptom medication score.

PD-L1 expression in tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Immune checkpoint proteins programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) are important therapeutic targets for head and neck cancer. This large-scale case study aimed to analyze tongue squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and evaluate the correlation between PD-L1 expression and clinical prognosis. So far, this study is the largest case study on PD-L1 expression in tongue SCCs. METHODS: This is a case-control study that analyzed 121 tongue SCCs. Paraffin-embedded sections and clinical data were obtained retrospectively and immunohistochemistry with PD-L1 was performed. RESULTS: 11.6% contained ≥ 50% of PD-L1-positive cells, 57.1% of these cases had a poor prognosis with nodal metastasis. Among cases of T1/2 primary lesions with nodal metastasis, cases of high PD-L1 expression had a significantly shorter disease-free survival than cases of no PD-L1 expression (p = 0.018). The hazard ratio for high PD-L1 expression was 3.21 (95 per cent CI, 1.26-8.72) compared with no PD-L1 expression after adjusting for other factors. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that PD-L1 upregulation in tongue SCCs is associated with a more advanced stage and shorter disease-free survival. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors might hence constitute potential adjuvant therapy for tongue SCCs with PD-L1 upregulation.

Orbital complications of infected mucocele in the paranasal sinuses.

OBJECTIVE: Infected mucocele of the paranasal sinuses can induce orbital infection, including orbital subperiosteal abscess, which may lead to life-threatening intracranial complications. Effective diagnosis is important, and treatment should be aggressive. This paper presents our experiences in endoscopic surgical management of orbital complications secondary to infected paranasal sinus mucoceles. METHODS: From our retrospective review of the medical charts for 82 patients with 92 sides diagnosed with paranasal sinus mucoceles, we present 7 sides in 7 adult patients with orbital complications secondary to infected mucoceles. The collected data include the suggested etiology, side of sinus involvement, localization of abscess in the orbit, orbital wall bone defects caused by mucocele compression, ophthalmic symptoms, duration between symptom onset and initial visit, operation date, type of surgery performed, and follow-up. RESULTS: The mucocele was located in the ethmoid-frontal region in 9.8% of the sides (9/92), in the frontal sinus in 7.6% (7/92), in the ethmoidal sinus in 9.8% (9/92), in the maxillary sinus in 67.4% (62/92), in the maxillary-ethmoidal sinus in 3.3% (3/92), and in the sphenoid sinus in 2.2% (2/92). The patients with ethmoid-frontal mucoceles had a significantly higher incidence of orbital complications (6/9) as compared with the other sub-types of mucoceles (frontal, 0/7; ethmoidal, 0/9; maxillary, 1/62; maxillary-ethmoidal, 0/3; sphenoid, 0/2). Chandler's classification showed Type I in one, Type II in three, and Type III in three. Sinus involvement was observed at the ethmoid-frontal sinuses in six cases and the maxillary sinus in one case. All seven cases had a partial defect of the orbital wall bone (lamina papyracea, or inferior orbital wall bone) by mucocele compression, and the patients underwent endoscopic marsupialization. For the cases with subperiosteal abscess, the lamina papyracea was also removed partially for draining the abscess. In all cases, symptoms were resolved without any recurrence of the mucocele. CONCLUSIONS: Infected ethmoid-frontal mucoceles with a defect of the lamina papyracea tend to induce orbital infection, so prompt surgery for the infected mucoceles should be considered early even with Types I and II, before visual acuity is impaired, because surgery is the only curative treatment for the mucoceles.

Clinicopathological Features and Outcomes of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Superficial Cancer of the Pharynx.

The efficacy and safety of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for superficial cancer of the pharynx are still unclear. To identify clinicopathological features of superficial pharyngeal cancer, and the efficacy and safety of ESD, we retrospectively assessed 70 pharyngeal cancers in 59 patients who underwent ESD. Of these patients, 61.0% and 50.8% had a history of esophageal cancer and head and neck cancer, respectively. The median tumor size was 15 mm, and 75.7% of the lesions were located at the piriform sinus. The en bloc resection rate was 94.9%. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 8 cases, but there was no treatment-related death. The lateral margin was positive for neoplasm in 3 lesions (4.3%) and inconclusive in 27 lesions (38.6%), but no local recurrence was observed. Cervical lymph node metastasis was observed in 6 patients, and was successfully treated by cervical lymph node dissection. The three-year overall survival rate was 91.5% (95%CI: 76.6-97.3%) and the cause-specific survival rate was 97.6% (95%CI: 84.9-99.7%). In conclusion, ESD for superficial pharyngeal cancer was safe and effective. "Resect and watch" is probably a feasible and rational strategy for treatment of patients with superficial pharyngeal cancer.

Young adult patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue strongly express p16 without human papillomavirus infection.

BACKGROUND: Long-term smoking and drinking are known to contribute to the onset of tongue cancer (TC). However, the increasing incidence of TC in younger adults has been suggested to be associated with other factors. OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated the relationship between TC and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Clinical records and surgically resected specimens from 86 patients (<40-years-old, n = 12; ≥40-years-old, n = 74) with TC were analyzed. Strong nuclear and cytoplasmic p16 staining was considered positive. HPV DNA (high-risk subtypes: 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 52b, and 58; low-risk subtypes: 6 and 11) was detected using consensus primer-mediated polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Strong p16 expression was observed in 10 (11.6%) patients. HPV DNA was detected in 9 (10.5%) patients (high-risk subtypes, n = 2; low-risk subtypes, n = 7). Strong p16 expression was observed more frequently among younger adults than among older adults (33.3% vs. 8.1%; p = .045). p16 staining did not correlate with the detection of HPV DNA (correlation coefficient, 0.113; p = .300). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: In TC, p16 expression was not associated with HPV infection, suggesting that it may be caused by a different mechanism.

Evaluation of a new and simple classification for endoscopic sinus surgery.

OBJECTIVE: In 2013, the Japanese Rhinologic Society proposed a simple classification for endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). This classification consists of five procedures (type I, fenestration of the ostiomeatal complex, with uncinectomy and widening of the natural ostium; type II, single-sinus procedure, with manipulating the inside of the sinus; type III, polysinus procedure; type IV, pansinus procedure; type V, extended procedure beyond the sinus wall). The clinical relevance of this classification in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and paranasal sinus cyst was evaluated. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective validation study. METHODS: A total of 122 patients (195 sinuses) who underwent ESS in Okayama University Hospital in 2012 were enrolled. The relationships between the ESS classification and the clinical course, including the operation time, bleeding amounts during surgery and postoperative changes of olfaction, the computed tomography (CT) score, and nasal airway resistance were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 195 ESS procedures were classified into type I (n = 3), type II (n = 17), type III (n = 91), type IV (n = 82), and type V (n = 2). The major phenotypes of type II, III, and IV ESS were paranasal sinus cyst (68%), CRS without nasal polyps (77%), and CRS with nasal polyps (55%), respectively, and the difference was significant. The degree of ESS based on this classification was positively and significantly correlated with the operation time and bleeding amounts. As a whole, olfaction, CT score, and nasal airway resistance were significantly improved after surgery. The degree of improvement was similar between type III and type IV ESS. CONCLUSION: This simple classification for ESS reflected the perioperative burden of the disease.