Otitis media following tympanostomy tube placement in children with IgG2 deficiency.

Children with IgG2 deficiency commonly develop recurrent acute otitis media. It is believed that these infections are secondary to impaired antibody response rather than eustachian tube dysfunction and are therefore less responsive to treatment with tympanostomy tubes. The authors compared the incidence of acute otitis media in IgG2-deficient patients following tympanostomy tube placement with controls in a retrospective cohort study. The charts of 20 patients (10 with IgG2 deficiency and 10 controls) were reviewed. Episodes of otitis media were recorded for 12 months. IgG2-deficient patients experienced three times as many occurrences of otitis media as did controls. This suggests that otitis media is much more common in these patients following tympanostomy tube placement. We believe that an immunodeficiency workup should be considered in patients with multiple episodes of otitis media following placement of tympanostomy tubes.

Topoisomerase I activity in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

In recent preclinical and clinical trials, topoisomerase I inhibitors have shown great promise as antitumor agents. These agents are most effective against tumors with high topoisomerase I activity. Therefore, determining topoisomerase I activity in advance may predict response to topoisomerase I inhibitors. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and normal tissue samples were obtained from 12 patients. Cellular extracts were prepared, and topoisomerase I activity assays were performed. The results suggest that topoisomerase I activity in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is increased approximately sixtyfold compared to normal tissue. Increased activity often correlates with clinical responsiveness; these results predict that topoisomerase I inhibitors should be effective and selective against squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.