Peripheral lymphocyte count as an indicator of radiotherapy effectiveness in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the predictive significance of baseline absolute peripheral lymphocyte counts (ALC) in the effectiveness of radiation in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC) patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective study of pathologically confirmed HPSCC patients who had definitive radiation between January 2020 and January 2022 at Fudan University Eye and ENT Hospital. The routine blood results of patients were obtained to determine if the baseline ALC was connected with the response to radiation. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve and LASSO-based Cox regression were employed to assess the predictive value of ALC for the efficacy of radiotherapy (RT). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND RESULTS: RT induced a considerable drop in ALC and the level of ALC did not revert to the baseline values 1 year after radiation. The baseline level of ALC was higher in patients who met complete response after RT. The baseline ALC and monocyte counts demonstrated the predictive value of radiation effectiveness and ALC was an independent predictor. CONCLUSION: In HPSCC, lymphocytes were sensitive to radiation and reduced significantly during RT. The baseline ALC might be regarded as a predictive indicator of the effectiveness of RT.

[Clinical Features and Prognosis of Acute T-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Children--Multi-Center Data Analysis in Fujian].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) in children and explore the prognostic risk factors. METHODS: The clinical data of 127 newly diagnosed children with T-ALL admitted to five hospitals in Fujian province from April 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, and compared with children with newly diagnosed acute precursor B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in the same period. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate the overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS), and COX proportional hazard regression model was used to evaluate the prognostic factors. Among 116 children with T-ALL who received standard treatment, 78 cases received the Chinese Childhood Leukemia Collaborative Group (CCLG)-ALL 2008 protocol (CCLG-ALL 2008 group), and 38 cases received the China Childhood Cancer Collaborative Group (CCCG)-ALL 2015 protocol (CCCG-ALL 2015 group). The efficacy and serious adverse event (SAE) incidence of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Proportion of male, age≥10 years old, white blood cell count (WBC)≥50×109/L, central nervous system leukemia, minimal residual disease (MRD)≥1% during induction therapy, and MRD≥0.01% at the end of induction in T-ALL children were significantly higher than those in B-ALL children (P <0.05). The expected 10-year EFS and OS of T-ALL were 59.7% and 66.0%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of B-ALL (P <0.001). COX analysis showed that WBC≥100×109/L at initial diagnosis and failure to achieve complete remission (CR) after induction were independent risk factors for poor prognosis. Compared with CCLG-ALL 2008 group, CCCG-ALL 2015 group had lower incidence of infection-related SAE (15.8% vs 34.6%, P =0.042), but higher EFS and OS (73.9% vs 57.2%, P EFS=0.090; 86.5% vs 62.3%, P OS=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of children with T-ALL is worse than children with B-ALL. WBC≥100×109 /L at initial diagnosis and non-CR after induction (especially mediastinal mass has not disappeared) are the risk factors for poor prognosis. CCCG-ALL 2015 regimen may reduce infection-related SAE and improve efficacy.

m6A­modified HOXC10 promotes HNSCC progression via co­activation of ADAM17/EGFR and Wnt/ß­catenin signaling.

The homeobox (HOX) gene family plays a fundamental role in carcinogenesis. However, the oncogenic mechanism of HOXC10 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. In the present study, it was revealed that HOXC10 expression was significantly higher in HNSCC tissues than in adjacent tissues, and a high level of HOXC10 was closely associated with worse clinical outcomes. HOXC10 overexpression promoted HNSCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing revealed that HOXC10 drove the transcriptional activation of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 (ADAM17), and the ADAM17/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/ERK1/2 signaling pathway facilitating the proliferation of HNSCC. Furthermore, mass spectrometric analysis indicated that HOXC10 interacted with ribosomal protein S15A (RPS15A) and enhanced RPS15A protein expression, activating the Wnt/ß­catenin pathway and contributing to invasion and metastasis of HNSCC. Additionally, the methylated RNA immune precipitation and RNA antisense purification assays showed that N6­methyladenosine (m6A) writer, methyltransferase­like 3, catalyzed m6A modification of the HOXC10 transcript, m6A reader insulin like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein (IGF2BP)1 and IGF2BP3 involved in recognizing and stabilizing m6A­tagged HOXC10 mRNA. In summary, the present study identified HOXC10 as a promising candidate oncogene in HNSCC. The m6A modification­mediated HOXC10 promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion of HNSCC through co­activation of ADAM17/EGFR and Wnt/ß­catenin signaling, providing a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for HNSCC.

Predicting survival of advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: comparison of machine learning models and Cox regression models.

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is a common tumor type. High recurrence rates remain an important factor affecting the survival and quality of life of advanced LSCC patients. We aimed to build a new nomogram and a random survival forest model using machine learning to predict the risk of LSCC progress. The study included 671 patients with AJCC stages III-IV LSCC. To develop a prognostic model, Cox regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between clinic-pathologic factors and disease-free survival (DFS). RSF analysis was also used to predict the DFS of LSCC patients. The ROC curve revealed that the Cox model exhibited good sensitivity and specificity in predicting DFS in the training and validation cohorts (1 year, validation AUC = 0.679, training AUC = 0.693; 3 years, validation AUC = 0.716, training AUC = 0.655; 5 years, validation AUC = 0.717, training AUC = 0.659). Random survival forest analysis showed that N stage, clinical stage, and postoperative chemoradiotherapy were prognostically significant variables associated with survival. The random forest model exhibited better prediction ability than the Cox regression model in the training cohort; however, the two models showed similar prediction ability in the validation cohort.

Learning Background-Suppressed Dual-Regression Correlation Filters for Visual Tracking.

The discriminative correlation filter (DCF)-based tracking method has shown good accuracy and efficiency in visual tracking. However, the periodic assumption of sample space causes unwanted boundary effects, restricting the tracker's ability to distinguish between the target and background. Additionally, in the real tracking environment, interference factors such as occlusion, background clutter, and illumination changes cause response aberration and, thus, tracking failure. To address these issues, this work proposed a novel tracking method named the background-suppressed dual-regression correlation filter (BSDCF) for visual tracking. First, we utilize the background-suppressed function to crop out the target features from the global features. In the training step, while introducing the spatial regularity constraint and background response suppression regularization, we construct a dual regression structure to train the target and global filters separately. The aim is to exploit the difference between the output response maps for mutual constraint to highlight the target and suppress the background interference. Furthermore, in the detection step, the global response can be enhanced by a weighted fusion of the target response to further improve the tracking performance in complex scenes. Finally, extensive experiments are conducted on three public benchmarks (including OTB100, TC128, and UAVDT), and the experimental results indicate that the proposed BSDCF tracker achieves tracking performance comparable to many state-of-the-art (SOTA) trackers in a variety of complex situations.

Identification of Potential Novel B-Cell Epitopes of Capsid Protein VP2 in Senecavirus A.

Senecavirus A (SVA) is a type of nonenveloped single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus. The VP2 protein is a structural protein that plays an important role in inducing early and late immune responses of the host. However, its antigenic epitopes have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, defining the B epitopes of the VP2 protein is of great importance to revealing its antigenic characterization. In this study, we analyzed B-cell immunodominant epitopes (IDEs) of the VP2 protein from the SVA strain CH/FJ/2017 using the Pepscan approach and a bioinformatics-based computational prediction method. The following four novel IDEs of VP2 were identified: IDE1, 41TKSDPPSSSTDQPTTT56; IDE2, 145PDGKAKSLQELNEEQW160; IDE3, 161VEMSDDYRTGKNMPF175; and IDE4, 267PYFNGLRNRFTTGT280. Most of the IDEs were highly conserved among the different strains. To our knowledge, the VP2 protein is a major protective antigen of SVA that can induce neutralizing antibodies in animals. Here, we analyzed the immunogenicity and neutralization activity of four IDEs of VP2. Consequently, all four IDEs showed good immunogenicity that could elicit specific antibodies in guinea pigs. A neutralization test in vitro showed that the peptide-specific guinea pig antisera of IDE2 could neutralize SVA strain CH/FJ/2017, and IDE2 was identified as a novel potential neutralizing linear epitope. This is the first time VP2 IDEs have been identified by using the Pepscan method and a bioinformatics-based computational prediction method. These results will help elucidate the antigenic epitopes of VP2 and clarify the basis for immune responses against SVA. IMPORTANCE The clinical symptoms and lesions caused by SVA are indistinguishable from those of other vesicular diseases in pigs. SVA has been associated with recent outbreaks of vesicular disease and epidemic transient neonatal losses in several swine-producing countries. Due to the continuing spread of SVA and the lack of commercial vaccines, the development of improved control strategies is urgently needed. The VP2 protein is a crucial antigen on the capsids of SVA particles. Furthermore, the latest research showed that VP2 could be a promising candidate for the development of novel vaccines and diagnostic tools. Hence, a detailed exploration of epitopes in the VP2 protein is necessary. In this study, four novel B-cell IDEs were identified using two different antisera with two different methods. IDE2 was identified as a new neutralizing linear epitope. Our findings will help in the rational design of epitope vaccines and further understanding of the antigenic structure of VP2.

Heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: opportunities and challenges.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is among the most severe and complex malignant diseases with a high level of heterogeneity and, as a result, a wide range of therapeutic responses, regardless of clinical stage. Tumor progression depends on ongoing co-evolution and cross-talk with the tumor microenvironment (TME). In particular, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), embedded in the extracellular matrix (ECM), induce tumor growth and survival by interacting with tumor cells. Origin of CAFs is quite varied, and the activation patterns of CAFs are also heterogeneous. Crucially, the heterogeneity of CAFs appears to play a key role in ongoing tumor expansion, including facilitating proliferation, enhancing angiogenesis and invasion, and promoting therapy resistance, through the production of cytokines, chemokines, and other tumor-promotive molecules in the TME. This review describes the various origin and heterogeneous activation mechanisms of CAFs, and biological heterogeneity of CAFs in HNSCC is also included. Moreover, we have highlighted versatility of CAFs heterogeneity in HNSCC progression, and have discussed different tumor-promotive functions of CAFs respectively. In the future, it is a promising strategy for the therapy of HNSCC that specifically targeting tumor-promoting CAF subsets or the tumor-promoting functional targets of CAFs.

Preliminary study using a small plasma extracellular vesicle miRNA panel as a potential biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis in laryngeal cancer.

PURPOSE: Plasma extracellular vesicle (EV) miRNAs are important biomarkers for body fluid biopsy. The purpose of this study was to screen and construct a plasma small EV (sEV) miRNA panel as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). METHODS: Plasma sEV miRNAs from 6 LSCC patients with three typical anatomical sites and 3 normal controls (NCs) were analyzed by next-generation sequencing. The aberrant expression profile of sEV miRNAs was compared with the online databases of LSCC to construct and verify the diagnostic and prognostic panel by machine learning. Additionally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‒PCR) was performed to validate the diagnostic efficacy of the screened miRNAs in an independent clinical cohort. RESULTS: A plasma sEV miRNA panel (consisting of hsa-miR-139-3p, hsa-miR-486-5p, hsa-miR-944, hsa-miR-320b and hsa-miR-455-5p) was successfully constructed for the early diagnosis and prognosis of LSCC and showed good predictive potential with AUCs of 0.782, 1.000, 0.716, and 0.875 by an artificial neural network (ANN) panel in independent datasets. This panel was further validated in an independent cohort consisting of 84 clinical cases (48 LSCC and 36 NCs). In the validation cohort, the AUC of the 5 individual miRNAs ranged from 0.721 to 0.837. The accuracy was further increased by the logistic model, which further increased the AUC to 0.959 by adjusting for the number of miRNAs. The miRNA‒mRNA regulatory network and immune function analysis revealed the possible underlying pathogenesis of LSCC. CONCLUSION: Plasma sEV miRNA panels can be promising plasma biomarkers for predicting early diagnosis and prognosis in LSCC.

Transnasal drainage prevents surgical cavity related complications in transoral robotic surgery resected parapharyngeal space tumors.

BACKGROUND: There is no evidence about the relationship between surgical cavity drainage and related postoperative complications in transoral robotic surgery (TORS) resected parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical efficacy and advantage of transnasal PPS drainage to prevent surgical cavity related complications (SCRC) in TORS resected PPS tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients undergoing TORS for PPS tumors were identified. In the experimental group (EG, 8 patients), the surgical incision was sutured directly and the transnasal drainage tube was placed. In the control group (CG, 15 patients), the surgical incision was partially sutured without drainage. The healing grade of surgical incision (HGSI), healing grade of surgical cavity (HGSC), SCRC, and other complications were compared. RESULTS: There were significant statistical differences in postoperative clinical rehabilitation indexes (HGSI/HGSC/SCRC) between the two groups. The comparison results of HGSI and HGSC in the two groups (EG vs CG) were (100% vs 66.7%) and (100% vs 46.7%) respectively. Compared with the EG, eight cases (53.3%) in the CG had postoperative SCRC such as hemorrhage, effusion, and swollen. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: For TORS resected PPS tumors, transnasal PPS drainage is an effective and comfortable method to improve postoperative HGSI and HGSC and prevent SCRC.

MicroRNA-218 regulates neuronal radial migration and morphogenesis by targeting Satb2 in developing neocortex.

Neuronal migration and morphogenesis are fundamental processes for cortical development. Their defects may cause abnormities in neural circuit formation and even neuropsychiatric disorders. Many proteins, especially layer-specific transcription factors and adhesion molecules, have been reported to regulate the processes. However, the involvement of non-coding RNAs in cortical development has not been extensively studied. Here, we identified microRNA-218 (miR-218) as a layer V-specific microRNA in mouse brains. Expression of miR-218 was elevated in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. We found in this study that miR-218 overexpression in developing mouse cortex led to severe defects in radial migration, morphogenesis, and spatial distribution of the cortical neurons. Moreover, we identified Satb2, an upper-layer marker, as a molecular target repressed by miR-218. These results suggest an underlying mechanism of miR-218 involvement in neuropsychiatric disorders, and the interactions of layer-specific non-coding RNAs and proteins in regulating cortical development.

Trends in the surgical management of parapharyngeal space tumors: A single-center retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: Surgery remains the mainstay treatment for parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors. Given the rapid advance and increasing usage of endoscopic and robotic techniques, we aimed to investigate the surgical trends of PPS tumors in our institution and analyze their impact on patients' treatment outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who underwent surgical resection of PPS tumors from 2014 to 2021 at the Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital of Fudan University were retrospectively reviewed. Student's t-test, Chi-square test, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to compare the surgical outcomes between groups. RESULT: Of the included 389 patients, the recipients of endoscopic surgery have largely increased in our center, with 17 of 134 cases (12.7%) in the group 2014-2017 and 187 of 255 cases (73.3%) in the group 2018-2021. The use of transoral and trans-nasal approaches increased in recent years (5.2% in 2014-2017 vs. 26.0% in 2018-2021), while that of trans-mandibular and lateral skull base approaches decreased (5.9% in 2014-2017 vs. 0.8% in 2018-2021). Decreased blood loss of operation and decreased risks of postoperative neurovascular complications were observed in the group 2018-2021. Similar findings were observed among patients receiving endoscopic surgery when compared with those receiving conventional surgery. CONCLUSION: In our institution, the overall trends in the surgical management of PPS tumors moved towards minimally invasive approaches with the assistance of endoscopy or surgical robots. The two surgical techniques were feasible and safe, and to a great extent, contributed to the improved surgical outcomes we observed in recent years.

Flame Spray Pyrolysis Synthesis of WO3 Sensing Materials: Effects of Flame Parameters on Particle Size Distribution and NO2 Sensing Performance.

In this study, the flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) technique was employed to produce WO3 nanoparticles, which were subsequently used as sensing materials for NO2 sensors. To enhance the sensing performance, the effects of flame parameters on the particle properties and sensing performances for 150-1200 ppb NO2 at 125 °C were investigated. The results indicate that WO3 particles with an average crystal size of about 10-20 nm and a standard deviation of about 3-7.5 nm were generated by controlling the precursor and dispersion oxygen flow rate of FSP. Based on the evaluation of NO2 sensing performance, WO3 sensing materials synthesized under the 3/5 flame condition exhibited better sensitivity than sensors made under other flame conditions. In summary, the FSP method and the optimization of flame synthesis parameters could be an effective strategy to prepare the sensing materials with high sensing performance.

Plasma Extracellular Vesicles-Derived miR-99a-5p: A Potential Biomarker to Predict Early Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the applicability of plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) miR-99a-5p as a potential head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) diagnostic biomarker. Methods: The miRNA expression of HNSCC tissue and plasma EVs were profiled by small RNA sequencing. qRT-PCR was performed to detect miR-99a-5p expression in HNSCC (n = 93) and benign disease (n = 39) plasma EVs and formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue (n = 110). We constructed receiver-operating characteristic curves to investigate the diagnostic efficiency of plasma EVs miR-99a-5p. Results: Tumor tissue exhibited lower miR-99a-5p than para-tumor tissue. Patients with high miR-99a-5p expression exhibited significantly more p16 positive status. In contrast, HNSCC plasma EVs harbored more miR-99a-5p than the benign disease group. Plasma EVs miR-99a-5p distinguished HNSCC with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7494 (95% CI: 0.6692-0.8296; p < 0.0001), with 61.54% sensitivity and 75.27% specificity, respectively. Furthermore, plasma EVs miR-99a-5p also distinguished early HNSCC with AUC of 0.7394 (95% CI: 0.6284-0.8504; p = 0.0002), with 79.07% sensitivity and 61.54% specificity, respectively. Conclusion: Plasma EVs miR-99a-5p is a potential biomarker for predicting early HNSCC.

Epidemiological, Clinical, and Oncological Outcomes of non-Alcohol Drinking and non-Smoking Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients: A Distinct Entity.

Purpose: To explore the discrepancy in clinicopathological and prognostic features between smoking and alcohol drinking (SA) and non-smoking and non-alcohol drinking (NSNA) patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Methods: This retrospective study including 1735 patients with LSCC was conducted from January 2005 to December 2010, which were categorized into 4 groups, NSNA group, smoking only group, alcohol-drinking only group, and SA group. We compared overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) using the Kaplan-Meier method and indicated clinicopathological features by Cox proportional hazards regression models before and after propensity score matching (PSM). Results: A total of 415 patients (23.92%) were identified as NSNA. The SA group was predominantly patients ≤60 years old (46.63%) while the NSNA group was more older (58.07%). NSNA group was more likely to present at earlier disease stage and more female. No significant difference in OS (P = .685) and DFS (P = .976) was found between the 2 groups. In addition to age and recurrence and metastasis being common independent prognostic factors in terms of OS in both groups of patients, NSNA group also exhibited other factors, namely tumor area >3.7 cm2 and positive resection margin. For DFS, N + stage, tumor size >3.7 cm2, and positive resection margin were prognostic features specific to NSNA group. Conclusion: The outcome is similar in LSCC patients with and without SA. NSNA group shows a distinct profile from that found in SA group. Clinicopathological features from NSNA group should be considered for LSCC management.

Indications and complications of secondary tracheoesophageal puncture in Chinese laryngectomees.

BACKGROUND: Although there are many literatures about secondary tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) for voice prosthesis. Most of the description of indications is not specific and the description of complications is not so vivid, which is not of great value for novice doctors. OBJECTIVE: To show specific indications and vivid complications of secondary TEP with typical clinical pictures for novice doctors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The clinical data of 20 patients undergoing secondary TEP for Provox Vega voice prosthesis in our hospital were analyzed. The surgical indications and the prevention and treatment of common perioperative complications were summarized. RESULTS: The surgical indications included: no obvious stenosis of the stoma and the entrance of esophagus; no obvious scar constitution, mouth opening restriction and backward restraint of the neck, etc. The common postoperative complications included: TEP fistula infection (2 cases), bleeding of the fistula (1 case), deep neck abscess (1 case), granulation hyperplasia at the inner side of the fistula (1 case), invagination of the voice prosthesis (2 cases) and leakage (2 cases). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The secondary TEP for Provox Vega voice prosthesis is clinically safe, but certain indications should be mastered. Common postoperative complications can be solved through preventive and remedial treatment schemes.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors and reduced-dose chemotherapy for adult Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Objectives: To compare the outcomes of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in combination with reduced-dose chemotherapy with those of standard induction chemotherapy, as well as the outcomes between chemotherapy and transplantation, in adults with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).Methods: We retrospectively reviewed cases of Ph+ ALL treated with TKIs and combination chemotherapy. The patients were allocated to either the TKIs with reduced-dose chemotherapy group or the TKIs with standard chemotherapy group. In additions, patients were further stratified into either the transplant group or the non-transplant group.Results: The complete remission rate (88.7% vs. 83.9%, p = 0.372), major molecular response (58.9% vs. 56.0%, p = 0.750), molecular complete response (20.5% vs. 22.0%, p = 0.891), and early mortality rate (3.2% vs. 3.5%, p = 0.922) were similar between the TKIs with reduced-dose chemotherapy group and the TKIs with standard chemotherapy group. The proportions of lung infections, bloodstream infections, patients with >21 days of hospitalization, the total costs, transfusion costs, and antimicrobial costs were higher in the standard chemotherapy group than in the TKIs with reduced-dose chemotherapy group. The 3-year overall survival rates (59.0% [95% CI, 46.6-74.7%] vs. 38.4% [95% CI, 29.9-49.4%]) and disease-free survival rates (48.6% [95% CI, 34.2-69.1%] vs. 32.0% [95% CI, 23.5-43.7%]) were significantly better in the transplant group than in the non-transplant group.Conclusion: An induction regimen combining TKIs with reduced-dose chemotherapy and transplantation during the first complete remission remains a suitable and effective option for patients with Ph+ ALL.

Oncologic outcomes of transoral laser microsurgery versus open partial laryngectomies in the management of early stage glottic carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The oncologic outcomes between transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) and open partial laryngectomy (OPL) using comprehensive analysis in one clinical center is rare. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oncologic outcomes of TLM in patients with early stage glottic carcinoma, and to compare the results with OPL. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Records of 425 glottic carcinoma patients with T1 - T2 stage treated with TLM, vertical partial laryngectomy (VPL), and cricohyoidoepiglottopexy (CHEP) from 2005 to 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. The overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and laryngeal function preservation (LFP) of these three treatments were assessed. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-two patients were treated with TLM. Regarding OPL, 167 patients underwent VPL, and 136 patients underwent CHEP. The mean age was 59.7 years, with men accounting for 97.2 % of all cases. The OS, DSS, and LFP rates of patients with anterior commissure (AC) involvement undergoing TLM were worse than those of patients without AC involvement, but these differences were not statistically significant. The 5-year OS, DSS, and LFP of patients undergoing TLM were 88.4 %, 89.9 %, and 83.5 %, respectively, and the oncologic outcomes of patients undergoing TLM, VPL, and CHEP were not statistically different. CONCLUSION: Glottic carcinoma patients with early stage treated with TLM experience satisfactory oncologic outcomes. No compelling difference in oncologic outcomes among three treatments of TLM, VPL and CHEP, as well as VPL and CHEP can be alternatives to patients who are not suitable for receiving TLM.

Management and prevention of brachial plexus injury caused by surgical suture of neck dissection induced chylous fistula.

BACKGROUND: The complication of brachial plexus injury (BPI) after surgical suture of chylous fistula caused by neck dissection is extremely rare. For the first time, we investigated the treatment and prevention strategy of BPI caused by surgical suture of neck dissection induced chylous fistula. METHODS: Forty-two patients undergoing surgical suture of neck dissection induced chylous fistula were identified between January 2015 to March 2022 at a single tertiary academic center. All patients were divided into two groups, medial anterior scalene muscle (MASM) group (24 patients) and lateral anterior scalene muscle (LASM) group (18 patients), according to the location of fistula regarding scalene muscle described in the surgical records. The incidence of BPI between the two groups after surgical suture was summarized and compared. RESULTS: There was significant difference in the incidence of different degrees of BPI between the two groups. In the MASM group, the incidence of BPI was 0 % (0/24), while in the LASM group, 6 cases suffered different degrees of BPI immediately after operation and the incidence of BPI was 33.3 % (6/18) (p < 0.05). The neurological function of all BPI cases recovered within 1-3 months after the suture was removed in time. CONCLUSION: The incidence of BPI in patients of LASM group was significantly higher than that of MASM group. When suturing this kind of fistula, the depth of the needle should be properly controlled to avoid BPI. In case of BPI, the suture should be removed as soon as possible to promote the recovery of neurological function.

Induction chemotherapy of modified docetaxel, cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil for laryngeal preservation in locally advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have investigated the value of induction chemotherapy (IC) in organ preservation strategies for head and neck cancers. This study evaluated the effectiveness of sequential IC with radiotherapy as a laryngeal preservation strategy for locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma (LAHSCC). METHODS: One hundred and forty-two consecutive patients with LAHSCC were retrospectively analyzed who received three IC regimens from 2015 to 2019. RESULTS: In the TP (docetaxel plus cisplatin), TPF (TP plus 5-fluorouracil), and TPX (TP plus capecitabine) IC groups, there were 51, 29, and 62 patients, respectively. The primary tumor objective response rates were 51%, 55.2%, and 71%, and the 3-year survival rates with preserved larynx were 36.6%, 31.8%, and 51.2%, respectively (p = 0.03). There was no difference in overall survival and the adverse events were tolerable. CONCLUSIONS: The TPX regimen displayed good efficacy and safety, indicating its potential as a therapeutic IC regimen for LAHSCC.

A Low-Cost and Efficient Indoor Fusion Localization Method.

Accurate indoor location information has considerable social and economic value in applications, such as pedestrian heatmapping and indoor navigation. Ultrasonic-based approaches have received significant attention mainly since they have advantages in terms of positioning with temporal correlation. However, it is a great challenge to gain accurate indoor localization due to complex indoor environments such as non-uniform indoor facilities. To address this problem, we propose a fusion localization method in the indoor environment that integrates the localization information of inertial sensors and acoustic signals. Meanwhile, the threshold scheme is used to eliminate outliers during the positioning process. In this paper, the estimated location is fused by the adaptive distance weight for the time difference of arrival (TDOA) estimation and improved pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) estimation. Three experimental scenes have been developed. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has higher localization accuracy in determining the pedestrian location than the state-of-the-art methods. It resolves the problem of outliers in indoor acoustic signal localization and cumulative errors in inertial sensors. The proposed method achieves better performance in the trade-off between localization accuracy and low cost.