Thymosin beta 10 correlates with lymph node metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Thymosin beta 10 (TMSB10) has recently been recognized as being an important player in the metastatic cascade including tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. However, a role for this protein in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has not yet been established. METHODS: Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to examine the expression of TMSB10 messenger RNA in 36 cases of thyroid tissue samples: normal thyroid, PTC without lymph node metastases (LNM) and PTC with LNM (n = 12 cases in each subgroup). For immunohistochemistry, 130 patients with PTC were selected during the period of 2004-2005, 91 with and 39 without LNM. Statistical analysis was applied to evaluate the correlation between TMSB10 expression and LNM of PTC. RESULTS: By real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, the expression of TMSB10 messenger RNA in normal thyroid tissue, PTC without LNM, and PTC with LNM tissue were significantly different (P < 0.0001). On immunohistochemistry analysis of 130 patients with PTC, in which 91 cases had cervical LNM and 69 cases had central neck LNM, high expression levels for TMSB10 were more common in patients with cervical LNM compared with patients without (81% versus 33%, P < 0.001). Similarly, high expression levels of TMSB10 were more common in patients with central neck LNM compared with those without (87.0% versus 44.3%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: High expression levels of TMSB10 correlated with LNM in PTC, especially in the central neck region. Patients with PTC with low levels of TMSB10 expression may be unlikely to have central neck LNM and could therefore avoid prophylactic central neck dissection.

Should level V be included in lateral neck dissection in treating papillary thyroid carcinoma?

BACKGROUND: The study was designed to explore the regular patterns of level V lymph node metastasis (LNM) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and to indicate whether level V should be included in the management of lateral neck dissection when treating PTC. METHODS: This retrospective study consisted of 330 patients diagnosed with PTC from January 1994 to July 2009 who underwent an operation that included therapeutic lateral neck dissection (levels II to V). The patterns of lateral neck LNM were analyzed and the relevant risk factors of level V LNM were analyzed with univariate and multivariate analysis, respectively. RESULTS: All the patients underwent lateral neck dissection at levels II to V. The predominant site of metastasis was level III (247/330 (74.8%)), followed by level IV (233/330 (70.6%)), and level II (215/330 (65.3%)). Simultaneous multilevel involvement (level II, III, and IV) of lymphatic metastases presented in 46.1% (152/330) of the cases. Level V showed 28.8% (95/330) of nodal metastasis. Multivariate analysis showed that level V LNM was significantly associated with location (whole thyroid), gross extrathyroidal extension and simultaneous multilevel involvement (level II, III and IV). (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Due to relatively high rate of level V involvement and its correlation with location (whole thyroid), gross extrathyroidal extension and multilevel involvement, we consider that it may be more rational to include level V in the therapeutic lateral neck dissection when treating PTC, especially for those who have any one of these three independent risk factors.

High expression levels of COX-2 and P300 are associated with unfavorable survival in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

In order to provide a basis for clinical treatment decisions, we explored whether there was a correlation between the expression of COX-2 and P300 and clinical factors in a group of patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). A retrospective analysis of clinicopathological data was conducted in 80 patients with LSCC who presented between January 1997 and December 1998. An immunohistochemistry tissue microarray was conducted of 80 surgically resected LSCC and 20 adjacent normal tissue specimens. Survival analysis and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare the effects of clinicopathological factors on survival. The Cox model was applied for multivariate analysis. The expression level of COX-2/P300 in LSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues were 47.5/50.0 versus 0.0/15.0 %. The expression of COX-2 and P300 was correlated with higher T category, N category, clinical staging, histological grade and recurrence (P < 0.05). P300 expression was correlated with COX-2 expression (P < 0.05). Univariate survival analysis showed that P300, COX-2, N category, clinical staging and recurrence factors were closely correlated with unfavorable survival (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that COX-2 expression, histological grade and recurrence were independent prognostic factors for LSCC. High expression levels of COX-2 and P300 indicated poor survival outcomes for patients with LSCC.

Treatment outcomes of mucosal melanoma of the head and neck: Analysis of 190 cases from a single institution.

Objectives: To analyze the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors of mucosal melanoma of the head and neck (MMHN) from a single institution. Methods: From December 1989 to November 2018, 190 patients diagnosed with MMHN were included. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method for univariate analysis with a log-rank test for significance and Cox regression for multivariate analysis. Results: With a median follow-up time of 43.5 months, 126 (68.5%) patients died. The median DSS was 35 months. The 3- and 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rates were 48.1% and 33.7%, respectively. The median overall survival (OS) was 34 months. The 3- and 5-year OS rates were 47.0% and 32.9%, respectively. In univariate analysis, the T3 stage, received surgery, R0 resection, and combined therapy (surgery+biotherapy/biochemotherapy) were significantly associated with better survival. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that the T4 stage (HR = 1.692; 95% CI, 1.175-2.438; p = .005) and the N1 stage (HR = 1.600; 95% CI, 1.023-2.504; p = .039) were strong prognostic factors for poor survival, and that combined therapy (surgery+biotherapy/biochemotherapy) was a strong prognostic factor for better survival outcome (HR = 0.563; 95% CI, 0.354-0.896; p = .015). Conclusion: The prognosis of MMHN remains poor. Systemic treatment is warranted to reduce MMHN progression. Surgery combined with biotherapy may improve survival.

Expression TGM2 and BNIP3 have prognostic significance in laryngeal cancer patients receiving surgery and postoperative radiotherapy: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to determine the pattern and correlation between expression of the HIF-1α transcriptional targets TGM2 and BNIP3 in laryngeal cancer, and investigate the association of BNIP3 and TGM2 with clinical outcome in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients receiving postoperative radiotherapy. METHODS: Immunostaining with antibodies specific to BNIP3 and TGM2 was performed in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens from 148 laryngeal SCC patients. BNIP3 and TGM2 expression was scored as high or low, based on the number of tumor cells stained and the staining intensity. All patients received postoperative radiotherapy. Patient follow up and clinicopathological data were compared using the Chi-squared test, univariate and multivariate analyses, and survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. RESULTS: The 3, 5 and 10-year overall survival rates (OS) for all patients were 77.7%, 71.6%, 56.4%, respectively. Primary tumor site, T stage, overall stage, lymph-node metastasis, BNIP3 expression and TGM2 expression were significant prognostic factors for OS in univariate analysis. Negative cervical lymph nodes, high BNIP3 expression and low TGM2 expression were independent prognostic factors of improved OS in multivariate analysis. BNIP3 expression correlates with TGM2 expression in laryngeal SCC (P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that lymph-node metastasis, BNIP3 expression and TGM2 expression are independent prognostic factors in laryngeal SCC patients receiving postoperative radiotherapy. Further studies are required to investigate how BNIP3 and/or TGM2 influence the prognosis of laryngeal SCC patients treated with postoperative radiotherapy, and to determine how TGM2 and BNIP3 expression are regulated.

Clinical features and outcomes of head and neck castleman disease.

PURPOSE: To increase the understanding of head and neck Castleman disease (CD) and to improve its diagnosis and management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on the medical records of 14 patients with cervical CD treated at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from January 2000 through December 2009. The predictor variables were age, gender, site, size, and treatment modality. The outcome variables were survival time and recurrence. RESULTS: Neck level II (9/14) was the most common site for CD. On computed tomogram, all 14 cases appeared as nodular and cylindrical-shaped lesions growing along the neck. Computed tomogram showed a uniform density and clear margins of the lesions. Thirteen cases with hyaline-vascular type CD showed significant enhancement on enhancing computed tomographic scans. One case with plasma-cell type CD accompanied by Hodgkin lymphoma showed mild heterogeneous enhancement and a strong vascular shadow inside the lesion. Thirteen patients with unicentric CD underwent regional resection. Follow-up time ranged from 14 to 132 months, during which none of the patients relapsed. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that head and neck CD has a low incidence and that the most common site is unilateral level II. Regional resection was the first choice for the treatment of unicentric CD. Overall, chemotherapy was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with multicentric CD. Future studies will focus on the early diagnosis and treatment of multicentric CD. Long-term follow-up is also necessary.

Treatment results and prognostic factors of patients undergoing postoperative radiotherapy for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Postoperative radiotherapy (PRT) is widely advocated for patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck that are considered to be at high risk of recurrence after surgical resection. The aims of this study were to evaluate the treatment outcomes of PRT for patients with laryngeal carcinoma and to identify the value of several prognostic factors. We reviewed the records of 256 patients treated for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma between January 1993 and December 2005. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test was employed to identify significant prognostic factors for DFS and OS. The Cox proportional hazards model was applied to identify covariates significantly associated with the aforementioned endpoints. Our results showed the 3-, 5-, and 10-year DFS for all patients were 69.9%, 59.5%, and 34.9%, respectively. The 3-, 5-, and 10-year OS rates were 80.8%, 68.6%, and 38.8%, respectively. Significant prognostic factors for both DFS and OS on univariate analysis were grade, primary site, T stage, N stage, overall stage, lymph node metastasis, overall treatment times of radiation, the interval between surgery and radiotherapy, and radiotherapy equipment. Favorable prognostic factors for both DFS and OS on multivariate analysis were lower overall stage, no cervical lymph node metastasis, and using 60Co as radiotherapy equipment. In conclusion, our data suggest that lower overall stage, no cervical lymph node metastasis, and using 60Co as radiotherapy equipment are favorable prognostic factors for DFS and OS and that reducing the overall treatment times of radiation to 6 weeks or less and the interval between surgery and radiotherapy to less than 3 weeks are simple measures to remarkably improve treatment outcome.

Long-term survival of induction chemotherapy plus surgery and postoperative radiotherapy in patients with stage IV hypopharyngeal cancer.

This study was conducted to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of induction chemotherapy plus surgery and postoperative radiotherapy in patients with stage IV hypopharyngeal cancer. The patients received two to three cycles of induction chemotherapy before surgery, with cisplatin (100 mg/m(2)) by rapid intravenous (i.v.) infusion over 15-20 min on day 1, bleomycin (10 mg/m(2)) on days 1 and 5, and 5-fluorouracil (800 mg/m(2)/day) by continuous i.v. infusion on days 1 through 5, repeated every 21 days. Adjuvant radiotherapy was begun 4-6 weeks after surgery. From July 1999 to December 2004, a total of 52 patients were enrolled. After completion of two to three courses of induction chemotherapy, 22 cases of CR (complete response) and 16 cases of PR (partial response) in the primary site were confirmed, giving an overall response rate (ORR) of 73.1% [95% confidence interval (CI), 61.1-85.2%]. There were 17 CRs and 19 PRs in neck lymph nodes, giving an ORR of 69.2%. The combined primary tumor site and lymph node response was 17 CRs and 16 PRs, giving an ORR of 63.5% (95% CI, 50.4-76.6%). The median time to progression and overall survival for all the patients were 32 months (95% CI, 7.6-56.4 months) and 36 months (95% CI, 22.3-49.7 months), respectively. The estimate of time to progression and overall survival at 5 years was 24.5% (95% CI, 12.5-36.5%) and 35.9% (95% CI, 23.2-48.6%), respectively. In conclusion, induction chemotherapy plus surgery and postoperative radiotherapy is a treatment modality that is tolerated with encouraging activity and survival outcome in patients with stage IV hypopharyngeal cancer.

Expression of PD-1/PD-L1 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and its clinical significance.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of programmed death-1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and P16 in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). METHODS: A total of 95 paraffin-embedded samples of tumorous tissue of HNSCC were collected. Expression levels of PD-1, PD-L1, and P16 were determined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: A significantly higher proportion of PD-1 among patients infected with the human papillomavirus was found. PD-L1 expression is closely associated with the primary site of the tumor, postoperative recurrence, survival, PD-1 expression and P16 expression. Univariable analysis indicated that T stage, N stage, tumor node metastasis stage, tumor differentiation, and PD-L1 expression were all shown to be prognostic variables for overall survival in patients with HNSCC. In the multivariate analysis, only N stage (P = 0.010) and PD-L1 expression (P = 0.001) were found to be independent prognostic variables for overall survival. In addition, for disease recurrence, multivariate analysis showed that only PD-L1 expression was the associated independent risk factor. For the patients with negative PD-L1 expression, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that they had significantly worse outcomes in terms of overall survival (P = 0.001). Similarly, compared with the patients with positive PD-L1 expression, those with negative PD-L1 expression had a higher probability of recurrence (P = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of PD-L1, PD-1, and P16 in HNSCC is significantly correlated. Human papillomavirus infection (P16 positive) is negatively related to postoperative recurrence. HNSCC patients with positive PD-L1/PD-1 expression tend to have better overall survival outcomes and lower probability of recurrence, providing more evidence for the PD-l-targeted immunotherapy of HNSCC.

Surgery for isolated regional failure in nasopharyngeal carcinoma after radiation: Selective or comprehensive neck dissection.

OBJECTIVE: To compare survival effects of comprehensive neck dissection (CND) and selective neck dissection (SND) for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with only regional failure. METHODS: A total of 294 recurrent T0N1-3M0 NPC patients who underwent neck dissection in Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, between January 1984 and February 2014, were enrolled in the survival and interaction analyses. Using propensity scores to adjust for potential prognostic factors, an additional well-balanced cohort of 210 patients was constructed by matching each patient who received SND with one patient who underwent CND (1:1); the differences were then compared between SND and CND in terms of overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). RESULTS: Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that SND was not inferior to CND (P > 0.05) but demonstrated that extracapsular spread (ECS) (hazard ratio [HR] 3.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.30-5.29, P < 0.001), recurrent N stage (rN stage) (HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.29-2.97, P = 0.002), and positive margins (HR 3.67, 95% CI 2.40-5.62, P < 0.001) were independent poor prognostic factors for OS. The interaction effects between the dissection style and each independent factor were not significant for OS, LRFS, RRFS, or DMFS (P > 0.05). Furthermore, no survival differences were found between SND and CND in the case-matched cohort in terms of OS, LRFS, RRFS, or DMFS (P = 0.550, 0.930, 0.214, and 0.146, respectively). CONCLUSION: With a similar radical dissection extent around the tumor rather than dissection of extensive lymph region distal to the lesion, SND is not inferior to CND for patients with NPC with only cervical failure. ECS, rN stage, and positive margins were adverse independent prognostic factors for patients with NPC. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 129:387-395, 2019.

Trends in clinical features and survival of oral cavity cancer: fifty years of experience with 3,362 consecutive cases from a single institution.

BACKGROUND: Global data demonstrate minimal improvement in the survival rate for oral cavity cancer (OCC) patients. We wished to know whether or not clinical features and survival rate have changed over time for OCC patients receiving initial treatment and follow-up at a large cancer center in China. METHODS: Clinical features and survival data were collected on patients diagnosed during the successive decades of 1960-1969 (n=253), 1970-1979 (n=497), 1980-1989 (n= 659), 1990-1999 (n=793), and 2000-2009 (n=1,160) at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. RESULTS: Over time, the overall 5-year survival rate for OCC patients was 52.0%. According to tumor localization, this rate was 71.4% for lip cancer, 56.3% for oral tongue cancer, and 42.7% for other parts of the oral cavity. From the 1960s to the 2000s, the 5-year survival rate steadily improved from 47.8% to 55.6% (P<0.001). Survival steadily decreased with age and was higher for women than for men in the 3 most recent decades. The survival rate for male patients was constant over time, while the rate for female patients improved dramatically. Obvious trends in clinical features over time included the following: increasing age of patients, increasing proportions of localized disease at diagnosis, decreasing proportions of diagnoses of lip cancer, decreasing proportions of diagnoses of squamous cell carcinoma, and decreasing proportions of non-surgical treatment approaches. CONCLUSION: The survival rate has steadily improved for OCC patients at this cancer center.

Epidemiologic characteristics of oral cancer: single-center analysis of 4097 patients from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center.

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer is a common type of head and neck cancers. Knowing its epidemiologic characteristics is crucial to preventing, diagnosing, and treating this cancer. This study aimed to explore the epidemiologic characteristics of oral cancer in South China. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 4097 oral cancer patients treated at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between 1960 and 2013. We compared the age of onset, sex ratio, pathologic type, and primary tumor location among three subcultural areas (Guangfu, Hakka, and Chaoshan) and between an economically developed region and a less-developed one in Guangdong. RESULTS: Overall, oral cancer had a male-to-female ratio of approximately 2:1, and this ratio decreased over time. Oral cancer occurred mostly in patients of 45-64 years old (54.5%), and the percentage of older patients gradually increased over time. The most common tumor location was the tongue. Squamous cell carcinoma was the predominant pathologic type. The percentage of blood type O in oral cancer patients was lower than that in the healthy population. The male-to-female ratio in the Chaoshan area was higher than that in the Guangfu and Hakka areas, whereas the age of disease onset in Guangfu was higher than that in Hakka and Chaoshan. The male-to-female ratio was lower and the age of disease onset was higher in the economically developed region than in the less-developed region. CONCLUSION: The incidence of oral cancer in South China presents typical characteristics to which doctors should pay attention when diagnosing and treating oral cancer patients.

[Treatment of second primary malignant tumor induced by radiotherapy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the diagnosis and treatment of a second primary malignant tumor induced by previous radiotherapy. METHODS: From March 1970 to March 1997, 108 nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients who developed a second primary malignant tumor induced by radiotherapy were treated. There were squamous carcinoma 43 (39.8%), sarcoma 26 (24.1%), malignant fibrous histiocytoma 14 (13.0%), adenoid cystic carcinoma 12 (11.1%), thyroid papillary adenocarcinoma 8 (7.4%) and malignant melanoma 5 (4.6%). Fifty patients underwent operation, 32 received radiotherapy, 18 received chemotherapy and 8 received operation combined with chemotherapy. RESULTS: The 3- and 5-year tumor-free survival rates were 64.0% and 36.0% in the operation group. They were 34.4% and 18.8% in the radiotherapy group. CONCLUSION: Surgery, if not contra-indicated, is the first choice for the second primary malignant tumor induced by radiotherapy. Aggressive treatment for these patients is, hence, indicated clinically.

Survival study and clinicopathological evaluation of trichilemmal carcinoma.

Trichilemmal carcinoma (TC) is a rare malignancy, commonly located on the scalp, forehead and neck, trunk or the upper extremities. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of TC, and to determine an optimal treatment strategy for these patients. Consecutive patients who were admitted to the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between 1998 and 2012 were included in this retrospective study. The key prognostic factors affecting survival were lymph node metastasis and surgery margin. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that there was no risk factor for patient survival. Surgery margin and lymph node metastasis were the prognostic factors that influenced the treatment outcome. Simple excision with 1 cm margins is safe, cost-effective and effective for the treatment of TC. Additionally, postoperative follow-up of the patient in order to facilitate early diagnosis of recurrence and distant metastasis is necessary. Systemic chemotherapy should be considered in the case of patients with distant metastases.

Irradiation of the recipient site does not adversely affect successful free flap transfer in the repair of head and neck defects after salvage surgery for recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma originally treated with radiotherapy.

Irradiation of the recipient site has been associated with postoperative complications and an increased rate of flap failure in facial reconstruction. The aim of this study was to report the outcomes of our use of four different types of flaps (two free and two pedicled) for the reconstruction of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with radiotherapy, who subsequently received salvage surgery after the development of recurrence or secondary primary tumours. The records of 12 NPC patients who underwent salvage surgery and reconstruction from 2002-2007 were retrospectively reviewed. There were no intraoperative or significant postoperative complications. All flaps survived. The average cosmetic outcome was 2.7 (1 = poor, 4 = excellent), all patients could tolerate a liquid to normal diet, and nine patients had normal or intelligible speech, while three exhibited slurred speech. These results indicate that the effects of irradiation on the recipient site do not appear to adversely affect successful flap transfer or outcomes.

[Laryngeal reconstruction by complex hyoid bone flap after frontal partial laryngectomy].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe a new technique of combined hyoid bone and thyrohyoid membrane flap in laryngeal reconstruction after tumor resection, and to evaluate outcome. METHODS: Six patients requiring an frontal partial laryngectomy for cancer were enrolled between September 2008 and August 2012. RESULTS: Nasogastric feeding was initiated within 24 hours. The mean times to swallow batter, ability to drink water and removal of the nasogastric tube were 2.6, 5.5 and 6.3 days. All patients had good respiratory function. There were no deaths, and no reports of postoperative dyspnea or dysphagia. The vocal quality was satisfactory, slightly deeper and raspy, and the volume was weak when calling. The final follow-up assessment was in August 2012, and the overall mean follow-up period was 29.5months, range 14 to 47 months. Case two subsequently underwent total laryngectomy for recurrence in the paraglottic space, but there was no evidence of further tumor recurrence at the final assessment. CONCLUSIONS: The combined muscle-pedicle hyoid bone and thyrohyoid membrane flap is a reliable graft for one-stage repair of laryngotracheal defects, providing effective repair of the mucosa and cartilage support. Vocal quality, swallowing function and ventilation after the procedure were favorable.

Therapy and prognosis of intracranial invasive olfactory neuroblastoma.

OBJECTIVE: There is currently no consensus on a standardized treatment strategy for olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB), especially for intracranial invasion. This purpose of this study is to explore the appropriate treatment modality and prognostic factors of intracranial invasive ONB. STUDY DESIGN: Case series with chart review. SETTING: The study was conducted at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital and the Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University, China. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five cases of intracranial invasive ONB were collected and investigated using a retrospective review analysis from patients diagnosed between 1980 and 2005. RESULTS: The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates for the group were 55%, 46%, and 31%, respectively. The subgroups who did not receive surgical treatment had worse survival rates than those who did receive treatment. In particular, patients who did not receive any therapy did not live past 1 year. In contrast, the group of patients treated by intranasal resection in combination with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy showed a slightly better survival rate. It is important to note that the group of patients treated by craniofacial surgery combined with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy had a markedly favorable prognosis, with 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of up to 100%, 88%, and 66%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Craniofacial surgery in combination with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy was an effective treatment for intracranial invasive ONB. In addition, it was found that age may not be an important prognostic factor for intracranial invasive ONB; however, the rate of intracalvarial invasion was found to be a potent marker for predicting the prognosis of patients.

External monitoring of buried radial forearm free flaps in hypopharyngeal reconstruction.

CONCLUSION: The radial forearm free flap (RFFF) is one of the optimal choices for hypopharyngeal reconstruction. Our series demonstrates that the technique of an indicator flap for the monitoring of the buried flap is simple, reliable, and inexpensive. The condition of the indicator flap can be easily interpreted by the physicians and the nursing staff. Therefore, the success rate of this microsurgical reconstruction may be improved. OBJECTIVES: The RFFF is increasingly applied in reconstruction of the hypopharynx after radical resection for advanced hypopharyngeal cancer. However, postoperative monitoring of the buried free flap is extremely difficult. We designed a small external component as an indicator flap to monitor the perfusion of the buried vascular pedicle. METHODS: Eight consecutive patients with hypopharyngeal cancer underwent radical surgery and hypopharyngeal reconstruction using RFFF at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 2005 and January 2007. The indicator flap was sutured to the surface of the neck for postoperative monitoring. RESULTS: All of the indicator flaps remained viable. One patient experienced vascular compromise and was successfully salvaged. The success rate of the buried flaps was 100%. Pharyngocutaneous fistula occurred in one patient. All patients resumed an oral diet eventually.

[Detection and clinical significance of lymphatic microvessel density in supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Lymphatic microvessels may play an important role in tumor metastasis. This study detected lymphatic microvessel density (LVD) in supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma to find its correlation to clinicopathologic characteristics, and to assess its prognostic significance in supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma. METHODS: Clinical data of 51 supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma patients who underwent primary lesion resection were reviewed. Immunohistochemical staining was performed with podoplanin monoclonal antibody to recognize lymphatic microvessels. The correlations of LVD to clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis were analyzed. RESULTS: The mean LVD was 3.25+/-2.37, with a median of 3, in the 51 specimens of supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma. LVD was significantly higher in the patients with cervical lymph node metastasis than in those without (P=0.009). The overall 5-year survival rate was 54.9%. The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in the patients with poorly differentiated tumor, stages T3-4 disease, lymph node metastasis, stages III-IV disease and high LVD than in their counterparts. Cox regression analysis revealed that LVD, T classification, and differentiation were independent factors for survival. CONCLUSION: LVD is related to lymph nodes status, and is an independent factor for prognosis of supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma.

[Clinical analysis of 53 cases of esthesioneuroblastoma].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The prognosis of esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) patients is poor. This study was to analyze prognostic factors and explore a rational treatment for ENB. METHODS: Clinical data of 53 ENB patients, treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from 1980 to 2003, were analyzed retrospectively. The correlation of prognostic factors to clinical features and treatment approaches were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Efficacy of different treatment modalities was compared. RESULTS: The five-year overall survival (OS) was 41% of all ENB patients. The five-year OS of the surgery group, radiotherapy group, chemotherapy group, surgery combined with radiotherapy and (or) chemotherapy group, chemoradiotherapy were 42%, 38%, 0, 56%, 0, respectively, which were statistically significant (p<0.05). The five-year OS of Kadish stage A, B, C patients were 100%, 37%, 31%, respectively, which were statistically significant among these three subgroups which (p<0.05). The recurrence rate over the entire period was 51%. The five-year OS of the recurrence group and recurrence-free group were 42% and 48%, respectively, without significant differences (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ENB is a malignant tumor with high rates of locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis. Surgery-based multimodality is a relatively reasonable method. The prognosis of ENB is associated with the clinical stage and treatment modalities.