Impact of superselective intra-arterial and systemic chemoradiotherapy for gingival carcinoma; analysis of treatment outcomes and prognostic factors.

BACKGROUND: We compared outcomes and toxicities between concurrent retrograde super-selective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy (IACRT) and concurrent systemic chemoradiotherapy (SCRT) for gingival carcinoma (GC). METHODS: We included 84 consecutive patients who were treated for non-metastatic GC ≥ stage III, from 2006 to 2018, in this retrospective analysis (IACRT group: n = 66; SCRT group: n = 18). RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 24 (range: 1-124) months. The median prescribed dose was 60 (6-70.2) Gy (IACRT: 60 Gy; SCRT: 69 Gy). There were significant differences between the two groups in terms of 3-year overall survival (OS; IACRT: 78.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 66.0-87.6; SCRT: 50.4, 95% CI: 27.6-73.0; P = 0.039), progression-free survival (PFS; IACRT: 75.6, 95% CI: 62.7-85.2; SCRT: 42.0, 95% CI: 17.7-70.9; P = 0.028) and local control rates (LC; IACRT: 77.2, 95% CI: 64.2-86.4; SCRT: 42.0, 95% CI: 17.7-70.9; P = 0.015). In univariate analysis, age ≥ 65 years, decreased performance status (PS) and SCRT were significantly associated with worse outcomes (P < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, age ≥ 65 years, clinical stage IV, and SCRT were significantly correlated with a poor OS rate (P < 0.05). Patients with poorer PS had a significantly worse PFS rate. Regarding acute toxicity, 22 IACRT patients had grade 4 lymphopenia, and osteoradionecrosis was the most common late toxicity in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report to compare outcomes from IACRT and SCRT among patients with GC. ALL therapy related toxicities were manageable. IACRT is an effective and safe treatment for GC.

Definitive radiotherapy vs. postoperative radiotherapy for lower gingival carcinomas of the mandible : A single-center report about outcome and toxicity.

PURPOSE: To assess radiotherapy (RT) outcomes in patients with gingival carcinoma and growth up to or involvement of the lower jaw bone. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 51 patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the gingiva. Patients received definitive (group 1, 31.4%) or postoperative (group 2, 66.7%) RT between 2005 and 2017 at the Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Heidelberg. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) in both treatment groups. Other endpoints were local-disease-free survival (LDFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and treatment-related toxicity (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, CTCAE, Version 4.03). RESULTS: Median age at first diagnosis was 63 years. All patients had a local advanced disease (American Joint Commission on Cancer [AJCC] stage III-IV). After a median follow-up of 22 months (range 3-145 months), 20 patients (39.2%) were still alive. At 5 years, OS rate was 36.6%. No significant differences in OS (p = 0.773), PFS (p = 0.350) and LDFS (p = 0.399) were observed between the two groups. Most common higher-grade acute RT-related complications (≥ grade 3) were dermatitis (78.2%), oral mucositis (61.7%), xerostomia (51.5%), and loss of taste (74.6%). Three cases (5.8%) of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the lower jaw were detected after 15-31 months. CONCLUSIONS: Definitive and postoperative RT have similar treatment outcomes for patients with lower gingiva carcinomas of the lower jaw. The most common acute complications (grade ≥3) were dermatitis, oral mucositis, xerostomia and loss of taste.

Prognostic factors and treatment outcomes of advanced maxillary gingival squamous cell carcinoma treated by intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic factors and treatment outcomes of advanced maxillary gingival squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated with intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy. METHODS: A total of 46 patients were reviewed retrospectively in this study. The treatment schedule comprised intra-arterial chemotherapy (total, 60 mg/m2 docetaxel and 150 mg/m2 cisplatin) and three-dimensional computed tomography based, daily conventional radiotherapy (total, 60 Gy/30 fr) for 6 weeks. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 40 months (range, 3-110 months). The 3-year overall survival and locoregional control rates for all patients were 64.3% and 84.3%, respectively. The OS rate of the patients with N0-1 was significantly higher than that of the patients with N ≥ 2 (P < .05). No grade 5 toxicities were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy concurrent with radiotherapy was effective for advanced maxillary gingival SCC.

Carcinoma de células escamosas de encía: reporte de un caso clínico / Squamous cell carcinoma of gingiva: report of a clinical case

El Cáncer Oral ocupa el sexto lugar entre los distintos tipos, y el 90% corresponde al Carcinoma de células escamosas de cavidad oral. Esta patología tiene una distribución mundial desigual. En Latinoamérica las incidencias más altas se reportan en Argentina, Sur de Brasil y Uruguay. La localización del tumor, el estadio clínico en que es diagnosticado, el tipo de tratamiento, entre otras variables, influyen en la supervivencia de los pacientes. Los distintos autores indican que en un alto porcentaje son diagnosticados en estadios avanzados lo que conlleva a una reducción evidente de la posibilidad de subsistir. Se presenta el caso clínico de un paciente sexo masculino de 75 años de edad que consulta por lesión tumoral en encía con 60 días de evolución. Se describen manifestaciones clínicas, radiológicas e histopatológicas. Se concluye en la necesidad de la detección y manejo oportuno por parte de odontólogos y médicos de ésta nosología (AU)

The pattern of failure and predictors of locoregional control in lateralized buccogingival cancer after postoperative radiation therapy.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the failure pattern and identify predictors of locoregional control in lateralized buccogingival cancer after postoperative radiotherapy (RT) at a single institution. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 150 patients with lateralized oral squamous cell carcinoma, including carcinoma of the buccal mucosa, gingiva and retromolar trigone. All patients underwent radical surgery followed by postoperative RT with or without concurrent chemotherapy. We registered planning computer tomography images with images obtained at recurrence and categorized the failure pattern as in-field, marginal, or out-field recurrence. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 47 months (range, 2-131 months). Twenty-eight patients (19%) experienced locoregional failure, including 20 local failure, 5 regional failure and 3 with both. Among the 24 patients who had image studies at recurrence, 15 patients had in-field recurrence, 5 were marginal recurrence and 4 were out-field recurrence. Seven patients (5%) had contralateral neck failure. Four of 5 patients with marginal failure had recurrent tumors in the infratemporal fossa. In multivariate analysis, extracapsular spread and positive or close surgical margin were associated with poor locoregional control. CONCLUSION: Local in-field recurrence is the most common failure pattern in lateralized buccogingival cancer after postoperative RT. The infratemporal fossa is a risk area for marginal failure and should be encompassed adequately in the postoperative RT field. Extracapsular spread and positive or close margin are predictors of locoregional control for lateralized oral cancer. Patients exhibiting such adverse features require more aggressive treatment.

Metastatic rectal adenocarcinoma in the mandibular gingiva: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Oral metastatic tumor from a rectal adenocarcinoma is very uncommon. The primary site is usually assumed based on the past clinical history. In the case of oral metastatic tumors, they commonly have a poor prognosis because often they have already spread to other sites. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 64-year-old male patient with secondary metastasis to the mandibular gingiva via lung metastasis after the surgical resection of a primary rectal adenocarcinoma. The gingival lesion grossly appeared as a swollen mass, making mastication difficult. The patient received palliative radiotherapy for the mandibular mass lesion. However, tumor reduction was accompanied by the development of pneumonia and deterioration of the patient's cachexia. Thus, the radiotherapy was discontinued but the patient died 2 months postradiotherapy. In the long term after its primary resection, the rectal adenocarcinoma was deduced to have finally metastasized to the oral region. CONCLUSIONS: In this case, we consider a distant secondary metastasis to the oral region from a rectal malignancy. In such cases, careful clinical and pathologic evaluations are necessary, with careful consideration of the inclusion of palliative treatment in the therapeutic management.

Cancer of the gingiva.

Cancer of the gingiva is a rare disease in the Western World. It most commonly affects elderly population. Because of its rarity, the reporting on the disease is sparse and often grouped with other subsites of oral cancer, which makes conclusions difficult to interpret. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on gingival cancer as a specific subsite of oral cancer and report on published prognostic factors as well as treatment of local and regional disease. We also present differences between gingival cancer subgroups, mandibular and maxillary gingival cancer. In addition, both surgical and oncological treatments are reviewed. It seems that surgery is the preferred initial treatment approach for the majority of patients with gingival cancer, although adjuvant radiation, with or without chemotherapy, is commonly recommended to increase locoregional control.

[Malignant melanoma of the mandibular gingiva]. / Le mélanome malin de la gencive mandibulaire.

INTRODUCTION: The oral melanoma (OM) account for 1% of all melanomas. The prognosis is poor despite an adequate locoregional control of the disease. OBSERVATION: A 47 year old women consulted for a blackish lesion of the mandibular gingiva next to tooth 37. Intraoral examination showed a dark pigmented lesion on the lingual side of the left mandibular molar region, extending from tooth 37 to the trine retro left molar. The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of mucosal nodular melanoma. A wide surgical excision without ipsilateral neck dissection was performed. The treatment was completed by 30 Gy external beam radiotherapy, the patient died 18 months after the first consultation. DISCUSSION: Oral melanomas have a poor prognosis probably because they are generally detected late. The most common sites for oral melanomas are the palate and maxillary gingival, malignant melanoma of the mandibular gingiva is extremely rare. About 30% of OM is preceded by areas of oral pigmentation for several months or years. The prognosis is poor with a 5% to 20% five-year survival rate.

Randomized, controlled phase II study of post-surgery radiotherapy combined with recombinant adenoviral human p53 gene therapy in treatment of oral cancer.

The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical benefits of recombinant adenoviral human p53 (rAd-p53) gene therapy combined with radiotherapy in prevention of oral cancer recurrence after a radical resection. A total of 51 patients with tongue cancer (TCa) and 56 patients with gingival carcinoma (GCa) satisfying the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to two groups: the experiment group (EG) and the control group (CG). The EG group received multipoint injections of rAd-p53 into the surgical wound surface at a dose of 1 × 10¹² viral particles after a radical resection. Patients in both EG and CG were given radiotherapy at a total dose of 60 Gy at 3 weeks after surgery. All these patients were followed up for at least 3 years. Two cases (2/27) of TCa and 2 (2/30) in GCa patients had a local recurrence in EG, but 8 (8/24) TCa and 8 (8/26) GCa patients in CG had a local recurrence. Both recurrent rates of TCa (33.3%) and GCa (30.8%) in CG are statistically significantly higher than those of TCa (7.4%) and GCa (6.7%) in EG, respectively. The overall recurrent rate in EG is 7%, which is also statistically significantly lower than that (32%) in CG. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate and 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate of EG is 100% and 93%, respectively. The 3-year OS and DFS rates of CG are 94 and 68%, respectively. Mild or medium fever and flu-like symptoms were more frequently observed in EG and were considered to be associated with application of rAd-p53. Post-tumorectomy wound surface injection of rAd-p53 combining with radiotherapy is a safe and effective regimen for the patients with TGa or GCa.

Plasmablastic extramedullary plasmacytoma.

Extramedullary plasmactyoma is the solitary, soft tissue form of plasma cell neoplasm but lack the defining features of medullary or multiple myeloma. The diagnosis is difficult to make in routine practice setting due to the morphological and immunohistochemical overlap with plasmablastic lymphoma. We report a case of plasmablastic extramedullary plasmacytoma in a 52-year-old in the mandibular lingual gingiva and discuss its differential from plasmablastic lymphoma. The gingival mass regressed with primary radiotherapy.

Mandibular reconstruction using free bone flap after preoperative chemoradiation.

When treating head and neck cancer of an advanced stage, additional therapy modalities are often combined with surgery. This sets new challenges for the reconstructive surgery, especially after segmental mandibulectomy. There is continuous discussion considering the optimal timing of the surgery with relation to other treatment methods such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In this work, we have analyzed a series of 10 patients treated with segmental mandibulectomy and preoperative irradiation or chemoradiation in our institute between 1999 and 2006. Surgery was scheduled within 5 weeks from the radiation therapy. 9 out of 10 reconstruction flaps were vital at the last follow-up. In general the outcome of these patients was consistent with the results published earlier by other institutes using postoperative irradiation or chemoradiation. We conclude that preoperative irradiation does not have negative impact on microvascular reconstruction with free bone flap and this procedure offers an equal option for the treatment of these patients.

[A case of advanced upper gingival carcinoma responding completely to concurrent chemoradiotherapy with S-1].

We report a case of advanced upper gingival carcinoma with a contralateral metastatic lymph node invading the maxillary sinus (T4aN2cM0). An 83-year-old man was treated concurrently with chemoradiotherapy and S-1. S-1 (80 mg/body/day) was administered for 2 weeks followed by a 1-week rest period as one course. Radiation therapy involved a total of 60 Gy (2 Gy/day; 5 days/week). There were side effects of mild leucopenia and a grade 2 stomatitis. After the completion of 2 courses and radiation therapy, the primary tumor disappeared, and the patient achieved a pathologically complete response. The metastatic lymph node also completely disappeared. S-1 was then administered in the same regimen for 1 year. Neither local recurrence nor distant metastasis has been detected 2 years after the completion of the concurrent chemoradiotherapy with S-1.

Primary gingival angiosarcoma successfully treated by radiotherapy with concurrent intra-arterial chemotherapy.

The occurrence of angiosarcoma in the oral cavity is extremely rare, and optimal management of this tumor is undefined. These tumors are aggressive, with a high propensity for local recurrence. We present here a case of primary gingival angiosarcoma successfully treated by intra-arterial chemotherapy concurrent with radiation therapy. A 69-year-old female with a primary angiosarcoma in the right maxillary gingiva was admitted to our hospital. The diagnosis of angiosarcoma was established by immunohistochemistry. The patient refused surgical treatment, and so intra-arterial cisplatin and concurrent radiation were given. The gingival tumor disappeared after completion of the therapeutic regimen. However, the patient died 8 months after initial treatment because of multiple lung metastases. Locoregional control was achieved up to her death. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this treatment for angiosarcoma of the oral cavity.

Benefits of dental implants installed during ablative tumour surgery in oral cancer patients: a prospective 5-year clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: This prospective study assessed treatment outcome and patient satisfaction of oral cancer patients with a mandibular overdenture on implants up to 5 years after treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: At baseline, 50 consecutive edentulous oral cancer patients, in whom prosthetic problems were expected after oncological treatment, were evaluated by standardized questionnaires and clinical assessments. All implants were installed during ablative tumour surgery in native bone in the interforaminal area. About two-thirds of the patients (n=31) had radiotherapy post-surgery (dose >40 Gy in the interforaminal area). RESULTS: At the 5-year evaluation, 26 patients had passed away and four patients had to be excluded from the analyses, because superstructures were not present, due to persistent local irritation (n=2), loss of three implants (n=1) and the impossibility of making an overdenture related to tumour and oncological surgery-driven anatomical limitations (n=1). In the remaining 20 patients, the prosthesis was still in function (76 implants). During the 5-year follow-up, total 14 implants were lost, 13 in irradiated bone (survival rate 89.4%, dose >40 Gy) and one in non-irradiated bone (survival rate 98.6%). Peri-implant tissues had a healthy appearance and remained healthy over time. Patients were satisfied with their dentures. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that oral cancer patients can benefit from implants installed during ablative surgery, with a high survival rate of the implants, a high percentage of rehabilitated patients and a high denture satisfaction up to 5 years after treatment.

Acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma of the gingiva: report of a case and review of the literature.

Adenoid squamous cell carcinoma differs from common squamous cell carcinoma in histologic features and its aggressive nature. Microscopically, the tumor shows cystic degeneration of the neoplastic epithelium, producing a prominent alveolar pattern and pseudoglandular structures with acantholytic cells. It occurs most commonly on the lips, rarely intraorally, and it is associated with a poor prognosis. This case concerns a 72-year-old woman who presented with the chief complaint of burning tongue and soreness of the lips. Clinical examination revealed an ulcerated and elevated mass on the edentulous left maxillary ridge, beneath the base of a partial denture. An incisional biopsy rendered the diagnosis of adenoid squamous cell carcinoma. The patient was referred to a specialized maxillofacial surgery center for diagnostic work-up and treatment. She underwent partial maxillectomy and radiotherapy, and 17 months after treatment, she died of uncontrollable recurrence.

Late diagnosis of a primary oral malignant melanoma: a case report.

Primary oral malignant melanoma (OMM) is a rare disease, representing 0.2% to 8% of all melanomas. Eighty percent of the cases are located on the palate and maxillary gingiva, with the remainder found on the mandibular gingiva, buccal mucosa, tongue, and floor of the mouth. OMM are highly aggressive with the tendency to metastasize and invade the surrounding tissues more readily than other oral malignancies. Prognosis is poor and the five-year survival rate ranges from 5% to 20%. The usual therapeutic approach for OMM is surgical excision of the primary tumor, supplemented by radiotherapy, with chemotherapy and immunotherapy serving as adjuvant. The authors report a well-documented case of OMM in a 40-year-old male who was referred to the Oral Medicine Service of the Cancer Hospital, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil exhibiting a firm mass at the right side of the face. Palpation revealed a painless soft tissue arising in maxillary gingiva, extending to the palate and vestibular mucosa. Pigmented areas were found in the mass. The patient underestimated his symptoms and look for treatment after a substantial growth of the lesion. This is an example of how a delayed detection affects the prognosis of OMM. The patient was treated by radiotherapy since surgical intervention was not possible, but died seven months later.

High-dose-rate brachytherapy for patients with maxillary gingival carcinoma using a novel customized intraoral mold technique.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel customized intraoral mold treatment for maxillary gingival carcinoma (UGC). STUDY DESIGN: Two patients with UGC were treated as salvage therapy using this technique. The mold was designed to keep normal soft tissues adjacent to the tumor away from the radioactive source as much as possible, and it was shielded by lead. The radiation dose on the buccal mucosa and tongue was measured at the inner and outer surfaces of the intraoral mold before starting high-dose-rate brachytherapy by the remote afterloading system, and was reduced to almost one tenth. RESULTS: The patient had no recurrence and no severe adverse effects on the normal soft tissue adjacent to the tumor until the end of the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: High-dose-rate brachytherapy using the novel customized intraoral mold might be a treatment option of not only salvage therapy, but definitive therapy of UGC.