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The levels of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) and C-reactive protein (CRP) can be used to predict tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, staging and survival in patients with oral cavity cancer. The present study analyzed the relationship between pre-treatment levels of SCC-Ag and CRP in relation to clinicopathological factors in patients with pharyngolaryngeal cancer (PLC) and determined whether elevated levels of CRP and SCC-Ag were associated with tumor metabolic activity via [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). We retrospectively recruited one hundred and six PLC patients between June 2008 and December 2011. All patients received computed tomography (CT)/ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and FDG-PET staging analyses, and the serum levels of SCC-Ag and CRP in these patients were measured prior to treatment. A SCC-Ag level ≥2.0 ng/ml and a CRP level ≥5.0 mg/L were significantly associated with clinical stage (P<0.001), clinical tumor status (P<0.001), and clinical nodal status (P<0.001). The elevation of both SCC-Ag and CRP levels was correlated with the standardized uptake value (SUV) max of the tumor (≥8.6 mg/L) and lymph nodes (≥5.7 ng/ml) (P = 0.019). The present study demonstrated that the presence of high levels of both pre-treatment SCC-Ag and CRP acts as a predictor of clinical stage, clinical tumor status, and clinical nodal status in patients with PLC. Moreover, elevated levels of SCC-Ag and CRP were associated with a high metabolic rate as well as the proliferative activity measured according to the SUVmax of the tumor and lymph nodes. Therefore, elevated levels of these two factors have the potential to serve as biomarkers for the prediction of tumor aggressiveness in cases of PLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reprogramming of energy metabolism in cancer cells has been directly/indirectly linked to mitochondria and mitochondrial functional defects and these changes seem to contribute to the development and progression of cancer. Studies have indicated that mitochondrial DNA haplogroups are associated with risk in relation to various diseases including cancer. However, few studies have examined the effect of haplogroups on cancer prognosis outcome. In order to explore the role of haplogroups on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) prognosis, the mitochondrial genomes of 300 male OSCC patients were comprehensively analyzed by direct sequencing. They were then haplotyped and grouped into four major geographic haplogroups, namely the East Asia AN, Southeast Asia RBF, East Asia MGE and Northeast Asia CZD groups. The Kaplan-Meier plot analysis indicated that individuals who were members of the CZD haplogroup showed a significant association with better disease-free survival (DFS) than the other three haplogroups and this phenomenon still existed after adjusting for tumor stage, differentiation and age at diagnosis (hazard ratio = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.36-0.84). In addition, an interaction between membership of the RBF haplogroup and radiotherapy/chemo-radiotherapy in DFS was also identified. The results strongly support the hypothesis that an individual's haplogroup, by defining their genomic background, plays an important role in tumor behavior and mitochondrially-targeted anticancer drugs are promising future therapeutic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes (located in the Major Histocompatibility Complex [MHC] region of chromosome 6p21) and NPC has been known for some time. Recently, two genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted in Taiwan and China confirmed that the strongest evidence for NPC association was mapped to the MHC region. It is still unclear, however, whether these findings reflect direct associations with Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes and/or to other genes in this gene-rich region. Methods: To better understand genetic associations for NPC within the MHC region of chromosome 6, we conducted an evaluation that pooled two previously conducted NPC case-control studies in Taiwan (N = 591 cases and N = 521 controls). PCR- based genotyping was performed for 12 significant SNPs identified within 6p21 in the Taiwan NPC GWAS and for the HLA-A gene (exons 2 and 3). Findings: After confirming homogeneity between the two studies, pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by logistic regression. We found that HLA-A (p-trend = 0.0006) and rs29232 (within the GABBR1 gene; p-trend =0.005) were independent risk factors for NPC after adjustment for age, gender, study and each other. NPC risk was highest among individuals who were homozygous for the HLA-A*0207 risk allele and carriers of the rs29232 risk allele (A). Conclusion: Our study suggests that most of the SNPs significantly associated with NPC from GWAS reflect previously identified HLA-A associations. An independent effect of rs29232 (GABBR1), however, remained, suggesting that additional genes within this region might be associated with NPC risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the role of adult diet on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Taiwan. Methods: A total of 375 incident NPC cases and 327 controls matched to the cases on sex, age, and residence were recruited between July 1991 and December 1994. A structured questionnaire inquiring complete dietary history, sociodemographic characteristics, and other potential confounding factors was used in the personal interview. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) with 95% confidence interval (CI) after accounting for known risk factors. Results: Fresh fish (ORadj, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.38-0.83 for the highest vs. lowest tertile of intake), green tea (ORadj, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.40-0.91 for drinking ⩾1 times/week vs. never) and coffee (ORadj, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.37-0.85 for drinking ⩾0.5 times/week vs. never) were inversely associated with the NPC risk. No association with NPC risk was observed for the intake of meats, salted fish, fresh vegetables, fruits and milk. Intake of vitamin A from plant sources was associated with a decreased NPC risk (ORadj, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.41-0.94 for the highest vs. lowest tertile). Conclusion: The study findings suggest that certain adult dietary patterns might protect against the development of NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an oncogenic virus causing oropharyngeal cancers and resulting in a favorable outcome after the treatment. The role of HPV in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains ambiguous. Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of HPV infection on disease control among patients with OSCC following radical surgery with radiation-based adjuvant therapy. Patients and Method: We prospectively followed 173 patients with advanced OSCC (96% were stage III/IV) who had undergone radical surgery and adjuvant therapy between 2004 and 2006. They were followed between surgery and death or up to 60 months. Surgical specimens were examined using a PCR-based HPV blot test. The primary endpoints were the risk of relapse and the time to relapse; the secondary endpoints were disease-free survival, disease-specific survival, and overall survival. Results: The prevalence of HPV-positive OSCC was 22%; HPV-16 (9%) and HPV-18 (7%) were the genotypes most commonly encountered. Solitary HPV-16 infection was a poor predictor of 5-year distant metastases (hazard ratio, 3.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-8.0; P = 0.005), disease-free survival (P = 0.037), disease-specific survival (P = 0.006), and overall survival (P = 0.010), whereas HPV-18 infection had no impact on 5-year outcomes. The rate of 5-year distant metastases was significantly higher in the HPV-16 or level IV/V metastasis group compared with both the extracapsular spread or tumor depth ≥11-mm group and patients without risk factors (P<0.001). Conclusions: HPV infections in advanced OSCC patients are not uncommon and clinically relevant. Compared with HPV-16- negative advanced OSCC patients, those with a single HPV-16 infection are at higher risk of distant metastases and poor survival despite undergoing radiation-based adjuvant therapy and require a more aggressive adjuvant treatment and a more thorough follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]