Can a diagnosis of Leiomyosarcoma soft palate be missed in the era of commoner oral carcinomas? - Rare case report and review of literature.

Leiomyosarcomas (LMSs) of the head and neck are an extremely rare entity. Of all smooth muscle tumors, 4%-10% occur in the head and neck and only 0.06% in the oral cavity. Because of its infrequency, it has been associated with both delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. Here, we report the clinicopathological findings of a case of primary LMS of the soft palate in a 42-year-old male patient with an emphasis on the judicious use of ancillary diagnostic modalities to arrive at a definitive diagnosis. Intraorally, LMSs present as painless, lobulated, fixed masses of the submucosal tissues in middle-aged or older individuals. The treatment modalities and lymph nodal dissection criteria are dissimilar to more common oral carcinomas. Hence, definitive diagnosis is necessary.

A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Effect of Bio-Enhanced Turmeric Formulation on Radiation-Induced Oral Mucositis.

INTRODUCTION: Oral mucositis is the most common toxicity of chemoradiotherapy treatment of head and neck cancers. The present study was performed to evaluate the effect of a researched turmeric formulation on oral mucositis in patients receiving chemoradiotherapy for oral cancer. METHODS: This randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial included 60 patients with oral cancer who had undergone radical surgery. Patients were equally randomized into 3 arms. Bio-enhanced turmeric formulation (BTF) capsules (low dose [1 g/day] or high dose [1.5 g/day]) or placebo was administered daily for 6 weeks with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Study endpoints included the impact of the treatment on chemoradiotherapy-induced oral mucositis along with dysphagia, oral pain, dermatitis, and weight loss. RESULTS: The incidence of grade 3 toxicity of oral mucositis, oral pain, dysphagia, and dermatitis was significantly lower in patients who received BTF than placebo. Twenty-five and 20% patients in BTF 1 g/day (p = 0.011) and 1.5 g/day (p = 0.004) arms, respectively, developed grade 3 oral mucositis compared to 65% patients in the placebo arm. Thirty-five and 30% patients in BTF 1 g/day (p = 0.027) and 1.5 g/day (p = 0.011) arms, respectively, developed grade 3 oral pain compared to 70% patients in the placebo arm. Twenty-five and 20% patients in BTF 1 g/day (p = 0.025) and 1.5 g/day (p = 0.010) arms, respectively, developed grade 3 dysphagia compared to 60% patients in the placebo arm. Ten and 5% patients in BTF 1 g/day (p = 0.114) and 1.5 g/day (p = 0.037) arms. respectively, developed grade 3 dermatitis compared to 30% patients in the placebo arm. Patients under BTF supplementation experienced significantly less weight loss and greater compliance with treatment than placebo. CONCLUSION: BTF (BCM-95®) can significantly reduce chemoradiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis, dysphagia, oral pain, and dermatitis in oral cancer patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials Registry, India (Registration No. CTRI) (CTRI/2015/12/006413 dated December 4, 2015).

A randomized prospective study comparing acute toxicity, compliance and objective response rate between simultaneous integrated boost and sequential intensity-modulated radiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer.

PURPOSE: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) provides higher dose to target volumes and limits the dose to normal tissues. IMRT may be applied using either simultaneous integrated boost (SIB-IMRT) or sequential boost (SEQ-IMRT) technique. The objectives of this study were to compare acute toxicity and objective response rates between SIB-IMRT and SEQ-IMRT in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 110 patients with locally advanced carcinoma of oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx were randomized equally into the two arms (SIB-IMRT vs. SEQ-IMRT). Patients in SIB-IMRT arm received dose of 66 Gy in 30 fractions, 5 days a week, over 6 weeks. SEQ-IMRT arm's patients received 70 Gy in 35 fractions over 7 weeks. Weekly concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy was given in both arms. Patients were assessed for acute toxicities during the treatment and for objective response at 3 months after the radiotherapy. RESULTS: Grade 3 dysphagia was significantly more with SIB-IMRT compared to SEQ-IMRT (72% vs. 41.2%; p = 0.006) but other toxicities including mucositis, dermatitis, xerostomia, weight-loss, incidence of nasogastric tube intubation and hospitalization for supportive management were similar in both the arms. Patients in SIB-IMRT arm showed better treatment-compliance and had significantly less treatment-interruption compared to SEQ-IMRT arm (p = 0.028). Objective response rates were similar in both the arms (p = 0.783). CONCLUSION: Concurrent chemoradiation with SIB-IMRT for locally advanced head and neck cancer is well-tolerated and results in better treatment-compliance, similar objective response rates, comparable incidence of mucositis and higher incidence of grade 3 dysphagia compared to SEQ-IMRT.