Comprehensive genomic profiling of salivary gland carcinoma: Analysis of the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics database in Japan.

Comprehensive information on genetic alterations in salivary gland cancer (SGC) is limited. This study aimed to elucidate the genetic and clinical characteristics of patients with SGC using the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT) database, a Japanese national genomic database. We analyzed data of 776 patients with SGC registered in the C-CAT database between June 1, 2019, and June 30, 2023. Adenoid cystic carcinoma was the most common histologic type, followed by salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) and adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified. Genetic data of 681 patients receiving FoundationOne® CDx were analyzed. We identified specific features of the combination of TP53 and CDKN2A alterations among the histological types. Specific LYN amplification was mainly detected in carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma and myoepithelial carcinoma. For SDC, the frequency of ERBB2 and BRAF alterations were higher in cases with metastatic lesions than in those with primary lesions. Although 28.6% patients were offered recommended treatment options, only 6.8% received the recommended treatments. This study highlights the differences in genetic alterations among the histological types of SGC, with comprehensive genomic profiling tests revealing lower drug accessibility. These findings could contribute to the development of personalized treatment for patients with SGC.

Impact of salvage chemotherapy after immune checkpoint inhibitor for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear witch regimen is optimal as salvage chemotherapy (SCT) after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) monotherapy for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (RM-HNC). METHODS: This study enrolled 109 patients. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival 2 (PFS2) were compared between patients stratified by SCT regimen. RESULTS: Of the 109 patients, 55 underwent SCT after the failure of ICI monotherapy. The OS of these 55 patients was longer than that of patients who did not undergo SCT. The OS and PFS2 were similar between patients treated with paclitaxel (PTX) and cetuximab (Cmab) combination and those treated with PTX monotherapy. The occurrence of irAEs did not impact PFS2 nor OS. CONCLUSIONS: SCT can improve the survival outcomes of patients with RM-HNC. In addition to PTX and Cmab, PTX monotherapy is also considered an effective SCT regimen. SCT is effective regardless of the presence or absence of irAEs.

Indications for sentinel lymph node biopsy in node-negative oral cancers.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to define the indications for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), the third option for cervical treatment in oral cancer with negative cervical lymph nodes. METHODS: The greatest depth of invasion (DOI) and long diameter (LD) of the primary site were used as exposures. SLN metastasis was considered the outcome. RESULTS: In three trials conducted between 2009 and 2016, 158 patients were eligible and reassigned to this study group. The scatterplot based on the respective values of DOI and LD would eventually be divided into three sections. In cases of sections T1, T2, and T3, the proportions of SLN metastasis positivity were 21.3%, 35.3%, and 51.2%, respectively. In certain cases of T1 with 2 mm < DOI ≤ 5 mm and 8 mm < LD ≤ 20 mm, the proportion of SLN metastasis positivity was 40.9%. CONCLUSIONS: SLNB-navigated or assisted neck dissection can be added as an effective procedure for N0 neck control.

Mature dendritic cells enriched in regulatory molecules may control regulatory T cells and the prognosis of head and neck cancer.

We previously reported that regulatory T (Treg) cells expressing CTLA-4 on the cell surface are abundant in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The role of expanded Treg cells in the tumor microenvironment of HNSCC remains unclear. In this study, we reveal that the tumor microenvironment of HNSCC is characterized by the high expression of genes related to Treg cells, dendritic cells (DCs), and interleukin (IL)-17-related molecules. Increased expression of IL17A, IL17F, or IL23A contributes to a favorable prognosis of HNSCC. In the tumor microenvironment of HNSCC, IL23A and IL12B are expressed in mature dendritic cells enriched in regulatory molecules (mregDCs). The mregDCs in HNSCC are a migratory and mature phenotype; their signature genes strongly correlate with Treg signature genes in HNSCC. We also observed that IL17A was highly expressed in Th17 cells and exhausted CD8+ T cells in HNSCC. These data suggest that mregDCs in HNSCC may contribute to the prognosis by balancing Treg cells and effector T cells that produce IL-17. Targeting mregDCs may be a novel strategy for developing new immune therapies against HNSCC.

Impact of tumor burden on survival in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become the standard treatment for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (RM-HNC). However, many patients fail to benefit from the treatment. Previous studies have revealed that tumor burden predicts the efficacy of ICIs, but this association remains unclear for RM-HNC. We retrospectively analyzed 94 patients with RM-HNC treated with ICI monotherapy. We estimated the tumor burden using the baseline number of metastatic lesions (BNML) and the baseline sum of the longest diameters of the target lesions (BSLD), and evaluated the association between BNML, BSLD, and standardized uptake value (SUV) and clinical outcomes. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.1 and 3.1 months in the low-BNML and high-BNML groups, respectively (p = 0.010). The median PFS was 9.1 and 3.5 months in the low-BSLD and high-BSLD groups, respectively (p = 0.004). Moreover, patients with high SUVmax levels had worse overall survival (OS) and PFS. BNML, BSLD, and SUVmax are useful prognostic factors in patients with RM-HNC treated with ICIs. Imaging examinations before ICI treatment are recommended to predict the efficacy of ICIs. If the tumor burden is high, cytotoxic anticancer agents may be administered concomitantly with or prior to ICI monotherapy.

Long-term efficacy of weekly paclitaxel therapy in unresectable primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid (PSCCT) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. Because of its rarity, there is no established therapeutic regimen in unresectable cases. We report a case of PSCCT treated with weekly paclitaxel (wPTX) for more than 2 years. A 59-year-old woman presented to our hospital with a progressively enlarging neck mass. CT and MRI scans showed a tumor arising from the right lobe of the thyroid, invading the esophagus and trachea, as well as partially surrounding and invading the right common carotid artery. It was deemed unresectable. Biopsy revealed poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. wPTX therapy was initiated. The patient achieved a partial response and is still undergoing treatment 28 months later. Adverse events included grade 3 neutropenia and grade 2 peripheral sensory neuropathy, which were manageable. Long-term wPTX therapy has been effective in this case of unresectable PSCCT.

Novel Prognostic Score for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer patients treated with Nivolumab.

Although several prognostic factors in nivolumab therapy have been reported in recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (RM-HNC) patients, these factors remain controversial. Here, we conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study to investigate the impact of clinico-hematological factors on survival in RM-HNC patients treated with nivolumab. We reviewed 126 RM-HNC patients from seven institutes. We evaluated the prognostic effects of clinico-hematological factors on survival. The median overall survival (OS) was 12.3 months, and the 1 year-OS rate was 51.2%. Patients without immune-related adverse events, lower relative eosinophil count, worse best overall response, higher performance status, and higher modified Glasgow Prognostic Score had worse survival. The score, generated by combining these factors, was associated with survival. Patients with score of 4-5 had worse survival than those with score of 2-3 and 0-1 [adjusted HR for PFS: score of 4-5, 7.77 (3.98-15.15); score of 2-3, 3.44 (1.95-6.06), compared to score of 0-1], [adjusted HR for OS: score of 4-5, 14.66 (4.28-50.22); score of 2-3, 7.63 (2.29-25.37), compared to score of 0-1]. Our novel prognostic score utilizing clinico-hematological factors might be useful to establish an individual treatment strategy in RM-HNC patients treated with nivolumab therapy.

Evaluation of the modified Pittsburgh classification for predicting the disease-free survival outcome of squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal.

BACKGROUND: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the external auditory canal (EAC) is a rare disease, which is commonly classified with the modified Pittsburgh classification. Our aim was to evaluate the predictive performance of this classification in relation to disease-free survival (DFS). METHODS: We examined retrospective data from a nationwide Dutch cohort study including patients with primary EAC SCC. These data were combined with individual patient data from the literature. Using the combined data, the predictive performances were calculated using the c-index. RESULTS: A total of 381 patients were included, 294 for clinical and 281 for the pathological classification analyses. The c-indices of the clinical and the pathological modified Pittsburgh classification predicting DFS were 0.725 (0.668-0.782) and 0.729 (0.672-0.786), respectively. CONCLUSION: The predictive performance of the modified Pittsburgh classification system as such appears to be acceptable to predict the DFS of EAC SCC. Other factors need to be added to a future model to improve the predicted performance.

Proenkephalin+ regulatory T cells expanded by ultraviolet B exposure maintain skin homeostasis with a healing function.

Regulatory T (Treg) cells, expressing CD25 (interleukin-2 receptor α chain) and Foxp3 transcription factor, maintain immunological self-tolerance and suppress various immune responses. Here we report a feature of skin Treg cells expanded by ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure. We found that skin Treg cells possessing a healing function are expanded by UVB exposure with the expression of an endogenous opioid precursor, proenkephalin (PENK). Upon UVB exposure, skin Treg cells were expanded with a unique TCR repertoire. Also, they highly expressed a distinctive set of genes enriched in "wound healing involved in inflammatory responses" and the "neuropeptide signaling pathway," as indicated by the high expression of Penk. We found that not only was PENK expression at the protein level detected in the UVB-expanded skin Treg (UVB-skin Treg) cells, but that a PENK-derived neuropeptide, methionine enkephalin (Met-ENK), from Treg cells promoted the outgrowth of epidermal keratinocytes in an ex vivo skin explant assay. Notably, UVB-skin Treg cells also promoted wound healing in an in vivo wound closure assay. In addition, UVB-skin Treg cells produced amphiregulin (AREG), which plays a key role in Treg-mediated tissue repair. Identification of a unique function of PENK+ UVB-skin Treg cells provides a mechanism for maintaining skin homeostasis.

The impact of clinicopathological factors on clinical outcomes in patients with salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma: a multi-institutional analysis in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Owing to the low incidence of adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC), reliable survival estimates and prognostic factors remained unclarified. METHODS: In this multi-institutional retrospective analysis, we collected 192 AdCC cases, and investigated the impact of clinicopathological factors on clinical outcomes of the patients. All AdCC cases were of salivary gland origin and were surgically treated with curative intent. Diagnoses of AdCC were validated by a central pathology review by expert pathologists. RESULTS: The 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 92.5 and 50.0%, respectively. Treatment failure occurred in 89 patients (46%) with the distant failures in 65 (34%). Multivariate analysis indicated that pN2 and a pathologically positive surgical margin were independent prognostic factors for both OS and DFS. Histological grade III was an independent prognostic factor for OS. A primary site in the submandibular gland, pT3/4, pN1, and histological grade II were independent prognostic factors for DFS. Postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) improved the locoregional control (LRC) rate. Prophylactic neck dissection was not associated with a better OS or better LRC among patients with cN0. Facial nerve dissection did not improve clinical outcomes in parotid AdCC cases without facial nerve palsy. CONCLUSIONS: A higher TN classification, a pathologically positive surgical margin, and a higher histological grade were associated with a lower OS. PORT improved LRC rates but neck dissection failed to improve clinical outcomes in patients with cN0. As the distant metastasis was frequent, effective systemic therapy is imperative to improve the survival of AdCC patients.

Third Epidemiological Analysis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in the Central Region of Japan from 2006 to 2015.

The present study aimed to clarify the incidence and clinical outcomes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the Chubu region of Japan from 2006 to 2015, compared with previous reports. A retrospective analysis was conducted based on medical records from 40 hospitals located in the Chubu region in the central Japanese main island, with a population of around 22.66 million individuals. This study was designed in line with to two previous clinical studies into NPC conducted in the same area of Japan. We recruited NPC patients diagnosed in hospitals across this area over a 10-year period (2006-2015) using a questionnaire about sex, age, primary site, clinical symptoms, pathology, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) staging, serological exam, treatment, and survival. A total of 620 NPC patients were identified. The age-standardized incidence of NPC from 2006 to 2015 was 0.27 per 100,000 individuals per year. There were no significant differences between this study and the previous two studies conducted in the same area of Japan. The five-year overall survival rate for all patients was 75.9%, while those for patients with stages I, II, III, and IVA were 97%, 91%, 79%, and 68%, respectively. The age-standardized annual incidence of NPC in the present study was 0.27 per 100,000 individuals per year, which was relatively low and stable. The five-year overall survival rate for all NPC patients was significantly improved in this decade compared with previous studies. The smoking rates in male and female NPC patients were 64.5% and 18.8%, respectively, thereby suggesting the involvement of smoking in the incidence of NPC.

Regulatory T cells expressing abundant CTLA-4 on the cell surface with a proliferative gene profile are key features of human head and neck cancer.

FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells suppress anti-tumor immunity. The suppression of Treg cells is regulated by cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), whose expression on the cell surface is tightly regulated. Here we found that Treg cells expressing abundant CTLA-4 on the cell surface (surface-CTLA-4+ Treg) were expanded in human head and neck cancer tissues. RNA sequencing of surface-CTLA-4+ and surface-CTLA-4- Treg cells infiltrating human head and neck cancer tissues revealed that surface-CTLA-4+ Treg cells have a previously undescribed gene expression profile correlating to cell cycle, cell proliferation, and DNA replication. Moreover, surface-CTLA-4+ Treg cells were PD-1+ , actively proliferated and associated with CD45RA- FOXP3high Treg cells with strong suppressive function. Thus, surface-CTLA-4+ Treg cells with a proliferative gene expression signature and phenotype are key features of head and neck cancer. Targeting surface-CTLA-4+ Treg cells might be new strategies to evoke effective immune responses to head and neck cancer.

Treatment and Outcomes of Carcinoma of the External and Middle Ear: The Validity of En Bloc Resection for Advanced Tumor.

Carcinoma of the external and middle ear is a very rare disease. Despite the various treatment modalities available, its prognosis is still poor. We aimed to analyze the treatment modalities, outcomes, and validity of surgical approaches, especially in advanced tumors in the ear. Twenty-five patients with carcinoma of the external and middle ear were retrospectively analyzed. The modified Pittsburgh staging system was used for staging of the patients. Overall and disease-free survival was estimated using of Kaplan-Meier method. In our cohort of 25 patients, the majority (76%) had tumor located in external auditory meatus. The most common histologic subtype was squamous cell carcinoma (80%). More than half of patients (56%) had tumor stage IV. In the stage IV group, five patients underwent subtotal temporal bone resection and ipsilateral neck dissection. Seven patients underwent definitive radiotherapy. The remaining two patients underwent palliative chemotherapy. The 2-year overall and disease-free survival for patients with tumor stage IV was 67.7% and 57.8%, respectively. In patients with tumor stage IV, the 2-year overall survival for patients who underwent surgery was 80.0% versus 53.6% for those who underwent radiotherapy (P = 0.16). The 2-year disease-free survival for patients who underwent surgery was 80.0% versus 28.6% for those who underwent radiotherapy (P = 0.15). In the present study, the outcome of patients who received surgical treatment tended to be better than that of patients who received radiation therapy. Our results suggest that en bloc resection could be the first choice even in the advanced disease stage.

Chemo-selection with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) regimen followed by radiation therapy or surgery for pharyngeal and laryngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Induction chemotherapy for patients with head and neck cancer is widely performed, and several advantages of induction chemotherapy have been reported. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to strongly recommend induction chemotherapy. In this study, we analyzed the outcomes for patients treated with induction chemotherapy and subsequent definitive treatments. METHODS: Operable patients with untreated oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated with induction chemotherapy were included in this retrospective study. We conducted induction chemotherapy using docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil and performed subsequent surgical treatment or radiotherapy according to the response to induction chemotherapy. RESULTS: A total of 65 patients were included in this study, and 50 patients (76.9%) had Stage IV tumors. The response to induction chemotherapy was CR in two patients, PR in 55 patients, and SD in eight patients. The subsequent definitive treatment was radiotherapy in 60 patients, and surgery in five patients. The 3-year overall survival rates for patients who received radiotherapy and surgery were 88.4% and 75.0%, respectively (P = 0.30). The 3-year disease-free survival rates for patients who received radiotherapy and surgery were 68.0% and 0%, respectively (P = 0.01). The 3-year laryngeal dysfunction free survival rates for patients who received RT and surgery were 77.8% and 0%, respectively (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We achieved favorable survival outcomes and high larynx preservation rates. Our results suggest that induction chemotherapy using TPF regimen is one of the optimal treatment strategies when treating head and neck cancers. Further prospective studies with a larger cohort are required to confirm our findings.

Diagnostic Performance of Whole-Body Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Compared to PET-CT Plus Brain MRI in Staging Clinically Resectable Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Precise staging of lung cancer is usually evaluated by PET-CT and brain MRI. Recently, however, whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (WB-DWI) has be applied. The aim of this study is to determine whether the diagnostic performance of lung cancer staging by WB-DWI is superior to that of PET-CT+brain MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PET-CT + brain MRI and WB-DWI were used for lung cancer staging before surgery with 59 adenocarcinomas, 16 squamous cell carcinomas and 6 other carcinomas. RESULTS: PET-CT + brain MRI correctly identified the pathologic N staging in 67 patients (82.7%), with overstaging in 5 (6.2%) and understaging in 9 (11.1%), giving a staging accuracy of 0.827. WB-DWI correctly identified the pathologic N staging in 72 patients (88.9%), with overstaging in 1 (1.2%) and understaging in 8 patients (9.9%), giving a staging accuracy of 0.889. There were no significant differences in accuracies. PET-CT + brain MRI correctly identified the pathologic stages in 56 patients (69.1%), with overstaging in 7 (8.6%) and understaging in 18 (22.2%), giving a staging accuracy of 0.691. WB-DWI correctly identified the pathologic stages in 61 patients (75.3%), with overstaging in 4 (4.9%) and understagings in16(19.7%), giving a staging accuracy of 0.753. There were no significant difference in accuracies. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic efficacy of WB-DWI for lung cancer staging is equivalent to that of PET-CT + brain MRI.

Lymph node ratio predicts survival in hypopharyngeal cancer with positive lymph node metastasis.

The lymph node density (LND) has been reported to be a significant prognostic factor in various types of carcinoma. This study investigated whether the LND is associated with survival in patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC) who have positive lymph nodes without distant metastasis. Forty-six patients who were pathologically diagnosed with HPSCC with positive lymph nodes and without distant metastasis were enrolled in this study. The LND was defined as the ratio of positive lymph nodes to the total number of lymph nodes. An LND of ≥0.09 was found to be significantly correlated with a shorter overall (p = 0.044) and disease-specific (p = 0.019) survival according to a log-rank test. In a multivariate survival analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for the pathological T category (pT3-4/pT1-2), pathological N category (pN2/pN1) and positive surgical margin and/or extracapsular spread (presence/absence), both an LND of ≥0.09 and pT3-4 category were associated with significantly shorter overall survival (p < 0.01) and disease-specific survival (p < 0.01). These results suggest that the LND functions as a prognostic factor for HPSCC patients with positive lymph nodes who do not have distant metastasis.