Comparison between three age-stratified cohorts reveals poor prognosis of young patients with tongue carcinoma.

Objectives: Investigation of the prognosis of young patients with tongue carcinoma has been the focus of several recent studies aimed at improving future precision treatment. Most studies have been two-cohort investigations comparing young and older patients, who have wide discrepancies in prognosis. Older patients, especially those aged >70 years, often have a poor general condition. This affects the prognosis of the older cohort and accounts for the discrepancies observed in two-cohort studies. Accordingly, in this study, older patients (aged ≥71 years) were separated and compared to young and middle-aged patients. Methods: A total of 257 patients with oral tongue carcinoma referred during 2011-2017 were analyzed. Patients were sorted into young (aged ≤40 years), middle-aged (aged ≥41 and ≤70 years), and older (aged ≥71 years) groups. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared among the groups. Furthermore, patterns of recurrence rates were compared. Results: Compared with young patients, there was no difference in OS or DFS for older patients (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.5-2.7 and HR: 0.7, 95% CI: 0.4-1.2, respectively) in a multivariate analysis. There was also no difference in OS (HR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.3-1.3) for middle-aged patients. However, middle-aged patients had low recurrence rates (HR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.8). With respect to the recurrence type, middle-aged patients had a low local recurrence rate (HR: 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1-0.7). Conclusion: Three-cohort studies should be conducted to evaluate whether the prognosis of young patients with tongue carcinoma is truly poor in terms of future precision treatment.

Prognostic Factors of Potential Early Recurrence of Hypopharyngeal Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Prognostic factors of hypopharyngeal carcinoma have been reported previously. However, recurrent cases of this disease occurring within 6 months of treatment have been excluded or poorly documented in many studies. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic factors of hypopharyngeal carcinoma recurrence within 6 months. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 120 patients were eligible for this retrospective study. Recurrent cases of hypopharyngeal carcinoma occurring within 6 months of treatment were evaluated and compared with non-recurrent cases. RESULTS: Recurrence within 6 months was detected in 28/50 cases. In univariate analyses, classification markers (pT≥4a and cN≥2b) were statistically significant prognostic factors for early recurrence (p=0.04 and p=0.04, respectively); however, only pT≥4a was predictive of recurrence in multivariate analyses (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Risk stratification according to the prognostic factor pT≥4a will allow physicians to identify patients who should be followed meticulously within the first 6 months.

A case report of Kuttner tumor mimicking a malignant tumor, leading to overtreatment.

Preoperative diagnosis with multimodal approaches might lead to overtreatment. Cautious understanding of cytology and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging is required when a Kuttner tumor is cited as differential diagnosis.

Weekly Cetuximab and Paclitaxel for Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Head and neck cancers account for 8% of all cancer cases worldwide. However, identifying the optimal treatment for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (R/MHNSCC) has been challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and prognostic factors of the outcome of patients with R/MHNSCC who were treated with weekly cetuximab and paclitaxel (Cmab-PTX). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of R/MHNSCC patients who were treated with Cmab-PTX in our institution between June 2013 and September 2017 were collected. We analyzed Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), prognostic factors and adverse events. RESULTS: The records of 59 patients treated with Cmab-PTX were analyzed. The median PFS was 5.7 months, and the median OS was 11.8 months. Patients who had been administered cetuximab previously had shorter PFS and OS than those who had not. CONCLUSION: Cmab-PTX may be considered as a treatment option in head and neck R/MHNSCC patients.

Electrochemical deposition of large-sized mesoporous nickel films using polymeric micelles.

Stable mesoporous nickel (Ni) films can be prepared using polystyrene-b-poly-(oxyethylene) (PS-b-PEO) micelles as sacrificial templates. In this method, positively charged Ni precursors form hydrogen bonds with the PEO segments of the micelles, which are then co-electrodeposited on the surface of a working electrode. Changing the applied voltage during electrodeposition modifies the deposition rate and ultimately controls the architecture of the mesoporous Ni film.

Effect of magnetite nanoparticles on living rate of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells.

Superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic magnetite nanoparticles, with diameters of approximately 13 and 44 nm, respectively, were synthesized and their uptake amount and heating efficiency were evaluated for application to magnetic hyperthermia. Both nanoparticles had almost the same zeta-potential (+10.2 mV) and hydrodynamic size (∼1 µm) and there was no significant difference in their uptake amount 18 h after they were added to the medium. After internalization, the ferromagnetic nanoparticles incorporated in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) showed a higher heating efficiency than the superparamagnetic nanoparticles when an external magnetic field (4 kW, 250 kHz) high enough to produce heat by hysteresis loss was applied, followed by cellular death of MCF-7 with high ferromagnetic nanoparticle content.