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Simple Summary: Treatment recommendations for head and neck cancer need to be disseminated worldwide becoming available through societies/authors scientific reports and websites with warning updates. This scoping review identifies and compares the worldwide clinical practice guidelines for treating oral, oropharynx, and larynx cancer. We verified the absence of guidelines in Latin American and Oceanian countries, as well as the inequalities between countries/continents, with a similar pattern of recommendations among low-income countries and in developed ones. Recommendations for surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy may differ according to country/institution access and resources Head and neck cancer (HNC) treatments have been based on single or multimodal therapies with surgery, radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. However, treatment recommendations among countries may differ due to technological/human resources and usual local practices. This scoping review aims to identify, compare, and map the clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for treating squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity, oropharynx, and larynx worldwide. A search strategy on global CPGs for HNC was performed by using five electronic databases and grey literature. CPGs were selected for inclusion using EndNote-20 and Rayyan online software. No language or publication date restrictions were applied. The results were analyzed descriptively considering the most updated CPG version. In total, 25 CPGs covering the head and neck region (10), the larynx (7), the oral cavity (5), and the oropharynx (3), were found in 13 geographical regions, and 19 were developed by medical societies from 1996 to 2023. Surgery and RT remain the main modalities for early-stage HNC, with surgery preferred in low-resource countries, and RT in selected cases, especially in the larynx/oropharynx aiming to achieve a cure with organ preservation. Human papillomavirus infection for oropharyngeal SCC is not tested in some Asian countries and there is still no consensus to treat p16-positive cases differently from p16-negative. Recommendations for larynx preservation vary according to facilities in each country, however, individualized choice is emphasized. Inequality across countries/continents is evident, with a similar pattern of recommendations among developed as well as developing ones. No CPGs were found in Latin America as well as Oceania countries, where the incidence of HNC is high and limitations of access to treatment may be encountered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The current treatment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is based on radical surgery and radiotherapy resulting in high morbidity. Chemoradiotherapy has been used as alternative to organ sparing; however, several advanced cases presented resistance to treatment, which contributes to a high risk of recurrence and mortality. Coding RNAs and miRNAs have potential to be used as biomarkers or targets for cancer therapy.Materials and Methods: In this study, 36 LSCC and 5 non-neoplastic control samples were investigated using miRNA and mRNA large-scale expression analysis and a cross-validation was performed using the TCGA database (116 LSCC and 12 surrounding normal tissues).Results: The large-scale profiling revealed the involvement of 28 miRNAs and 817 genes differentially expressed in LSCC. An integrative analysis comprising predicted and experimentally validated miRNA/mRNA interactions (negatively correlated), resulted in 28 miRNAs and 543 mRNAs. Decreased expression of miR-199b was significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival in LSCC (internal and TCGA datasets). The expression levels of selected miRNAs (miR-199b-5p, miR-29c-3p, miR-204-5p, miR-125b-5p and miR-92a-3p) and genes (COL3A1, COL10A1, ERBB4, HMGA2, HLF, TOP2A, MMP3, MMP13, MMP10 and PPP1R3) were confirmed as altered in LSCC by RT-qPCR. Additionally, a drug target prediction analysis revealed drug combinations based on miRNA and mRNA expression, pointing out novel alternatives to optimize the LSCC treatment.Conclusion: Collectively, these findings provide new insights in the LSCC transcriptional deregulation and potential drug targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the clinical value of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) after the first cycle of induction chemotherapy (IC) in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (LASCCHN). Methods and findings: A prospective, single-arm, single center study was performed, with patients enrolled between February 2010 and July 2013.Patients (n = 49) with stage III/IVA–B LASCCHN who underwent IC with taxanes, cisplatin, and fluorouracil were recruited. Staging procedures included loco-regional and chest imaging, endoscopic examination, and PET/CT scan. On day 14 of the first cycle, a second PET/CT scan was performed. Patients with no early increase in regional lymph node maximum 18F-FDG standard uptake value (SUV), detected using 18F-FDG PET/CT after first IC had better progression-free survival (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.18, 95%, confidence interval (CI) 0.056–0.585; p = 0.004) and overall survival (HR = 0.14, 95% CI 0.040–0.498; p = 0.002), and were considered responders. In this subgroup, patients who achieved a reduction of ≥ 45% maximum primary tumor SUV experienced improved progression-free (HR = 0.23, 95% CI 0.062–0.854; p = 0.028) and overall (HR = 0.11, 95% CI 0.013–0.96; p = 0.046) survival. Conclusions: These results suggest a potential role for early response evaluation with PET/CT examination in patients with LASCCHN undergoing IC. Increased regional lymph node maximum SUV and insufficient decrease in primary tumor uptake predict poorer outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since 2018, transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA) has emerged as a true scarless thyroid surgery. In this study, we explore early outcomes and learning curve of this new approach.Methods: A retrospective cohort including conventional thyroidectomies and TOETVAs performed in a cancer center was designed. Learning curve and early surgical outcomes of TOETVA were assessed and compared to conventional thyroidectomy.Results: A total of 56 TOETVAs and 745 conventional thyroid procedures were included. In the TOETVA group, we had a 14.4% total complication rate with no permanent vocal cord paresis or hypocalcemia. The mean surgical time dropped from 167 to 117 min (p = 0.0001) after the 15 first cases. Comparing to conventional procedures, we didn't find any significant difference in complications rate. Operative time was longer in the TOETVA group.Conclusions: In this study, TOETVA was safe and feasible, with a learning curve of 15 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The tumor secretome deconvolution is a promising strategy to identify diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Here, transcriptomic-based secretome analysis was performed aiming to discover laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (LSCC) biomarkers from potentially secreted proteins (PSPs).Material and Methods: The tumor expression profile (35 LSCC biopsies compared with surrounding normal tissues - SN) revealed 589 overexpressed genes. This gene list was used for secretome analysis based on laryngeal tumors and related secretome databases.Results: Forty-nine (Laryngeal tumor secretome database) and 50 (Human Protein Atlas and Cancer Secretome Database) PSPs presented an association with worse overall survival. Specifically, DSG2 overexpression was strongly correlated with poor survival and distant metastasis. DSG2 increased expression was confirmed in the LSCC dataset (LSCC = 111; SN = 12) from TCGA. A significant association between shorter survival and DSG2 overexpression was also detected. In an independent cohort of cases, we analyzed and confirmed high protein levels of DSG2 in plasma from LSCC patients.Conclusion: A set of PSPs including the circulating DSG2, were associated with shorter overall survival in LSCC. DSG2 overexpression was also correlated with distant metastasis. The high plasmatic protein levels of DSG2 suggest its potential to be tested in liquid biopsies and applied as prognostic biomarker of LSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]