Blocking long noncoding RNA MALAT1 restrained the development of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The long non-coding RNA MALAT1 is a predictive marker in several solid tumors with highly conserved sequences. However, the role of non-coding RNA in development of laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer remains unclear. METHODS: Tumor tissues and adjacent non-cancer tissues of 24 patients were collected. We detected the expression of MALAT1 in laryngeal cancer tissues and hypopharyngeal cancer tissues. Moreover, we developed a MALAT1 silencing model in human laryngeal tumor cells by transfecting MALAT1 small interfering RNA into human laryngeal carcinoma cell line Hep-2 and pharyngeal carcinoma cell line FaDu with Lipofectamine 2000 system. Cell cycle analysis, Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, Transwell assay, quantitative reverse transcription PCR, and wound-healing assays were performed to evaluate the impact of MALAT1 depletion on laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer cell's growth, proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration. RESULTS: MALAT1 was significantly up-regulated in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells. MALAT1 down-regulation induced the increased apoptosis of both cell lines and suppressed cells' proliferation. Cells were arrested in G1/G2 phase and cells of S phase were significantly decreased. Down-regulation of MALAT1 expression can also inhibit the migration and invasion of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell (Hep-2) and hypopharyngeal cancer cell (FaDu). CONCLUSION: In summary, our deactivation model of MALAT1 disentangled the active function of it as a regulator of gene expression governing the hallmarks of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer. Blocking this long non-coding RNA may restrain the development of laryngeal cancer.

Vitamin and carotenoid intake and risk of head-neck cancer subtypes in the Netherlands Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the seventh most-common type of cancer worldwide. Evidence regarding the potential protective effect of vitamins and carotenoids on HNC is limited and mostly based on case-control studies. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the association of intake of dietary vitamins C and E (including supplementation) and the most-common carotenoids (α-carotene, ß-carotene, lutein plus zeaxanthin, lycopene, and ß-cryptoxanthin) and risk of HNC and HNC subtypes in a large prospective study. DESIGN: The Netherlands Cohort Study included 120,852 participants. For efficiency reasons, a case-cohort design was used. At baseline in 1986, participants completed a food-frequency questionnaire. A subcohort was randomly selected from the total cohort. After 20.3 y of follow-up, 3898 subcohort members and 415 HNC cases [131 oral cavity cancer (OCCs), 88 oro-/hypopharyngeal cancer (OHPs), and 193 laryngeal cancer cases] were available for analysis. Rate ratios and 95% CIs for highest (quartile 4) compared with lowest (quartile 1) quartiles of vitamin and carotenoid intake were estimated by using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: A strong inverse association was shown between vitamin C and HNC overall (multivariable-adjusted rate ratio for quartile 4 compared with quartile 1: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.66; P-trend < 0.001), OCC (multivariable-adjusted rate ratio for quartile 4 compared with quartile 1: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.77; P-trend < 0.05), and OHPC (multivariable-adjusted rate ratio for quartile 4 compared with quartile 1: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.67; P-trend < 0.01). No statistically significant results were shown for vitamin E, α-carotene, ß-carotene, lycopene, and lutein plus zeaxanthin. The association of vitamin E and HNC was modified by alcohol status (P-interaction = 0.003) with lower risks in alcohol abstainers. CONCLUSIONS: With this study, we show an inverse association between intake of vitamin C and the incidence of HNC and HNC-subtypes. Future research is recommended to investigate the underlying mechanisms and to confirm our results, which may be promising for the prevention of HNC.

Effectiveness of narrow band imaging in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma after treatment.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the effectiveness of narrow band imaging (NBI) in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) after treatment. METHODS: In all, 101 consecutive OSCC patients underwent NBI examination for posttreatment follow-up. Four patients had local recurrence. Twenty-six second primary malignancies were found in 18 patients; 6 patients (33%) had more than 1 lesion. Seventeen lesions (65%) were carcinoma in situ or severe dysplasia. Most of them occurred in the oral cavity (77%). RESULTS: A higher incidence (18% vs 9%, p = .037) and less-advanced stage (4% vs 37%, p = .0005) of second primary malignancies were found among the NBI group compared with a previous cohort without NBI examination, and fewer patients needed postoperative adjuvant therapy (12% vs 50%, p = .0005). CONCLUSIONS: NBI is an effective method to identify early lesions in the head and neck area, especially the oral cavity, among patients with OSCC after treatment.

RNA interference of caveolin-1 via lentiviral vector inhibits growth of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma FaDu cells In Vitro and In Vivo.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of caveolin-1 (CAV1) on the growth of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) FaDu cells in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: A CAV1-RNAi-lentivirus construct was transfected into FaDu cells and expression of caveolin-1 was tested by RT-PCR and western blotting analysis. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by transferase-medisated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Tumor inhibition effects were investigated by injecting rCAV1-RNAi-lentivirus construct into tumors created with FaDu cells in the HSCC mouse model, with the empty-vector lentivirus as a control. CAV1 expression in xenografts was tested by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: RT-PCR and western blot analysis demonstrated successful construction of the CAV1-RNAi-lentivirus construct producing small hairpin RNA. The average weights and volumes of tumor in mice treated with CAV1-RNAi-lentivirus were lower than in mice with control treatment (P < 0.05). RT-PCR revealed weak positive expression of CAV1 in CAV1-construct-treated xenografts and immunohistochemistry confirmed lower CAV1 expression than in controls.(P < 0.05). In addition, downregulation of CAV1 increased cell apoptosis in vitro. CONCLUSION: The growth of HSCCs could be inhibited by recombinant CAV1-RNAi-lentivirus in vitro and in vivo.

[Occupational risk factors for pharyngeal cancer. Results of the Heidelberg Pharyngeal Cancer Study]. / Berufliche Risikofaktoren für Rachenkrebs. Ergebnisse der Heidelberger Rachenkrebsstudie.

We carried out a case-control study on the role of occupational factors on the risk of pharyngeal cancer. The study was performed at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery of the University of Heidelberg and comprised 105 male patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx and/or hypopharynx and 420 randomly selected control subjects who were matched for age, sex and residential area (1:4 matching design). The study showed that 34.3% of the cancer patients and 10.1% of the control subjects worked in the construction industry. As construction workers were 26.7% of the cancer patients and 7.1% of the control subjects employed, the relative risk of pharyngeal cancer in construction workers was estimated to be 2.5 (C.I. 1.1-5.5, adjusted for alcohol and tobacco consumption). After further adjustment for alcohol and tobacco consumption, an increased risk of pharyngeal cancer was found for workers exposed to cutting oils (RR = 3.7; C.I. 1.2-11.8), iron dust (RR = 2.7; C.I. 1.0-7.0) asbestos cement (RR = 2.5; C.I. 1.0-6.1), cement (RR = 2.2; C.I. 0.9-5.2) and coal/tar products (RR = 3.6; C.I. 0.8-17.3).