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The 14 cases of malignant submandibular tumor whose treatment outcome we analyzed between 1989 and 2008 included 5 of adenoid cystic carcinoma, 3 of squamous cell carcinoma, 2 each of mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma, and 1 each of carcinosarcoma and large-cell carcinoma. One subject was diagnosed with T1, 7 with T2, 4 with T3, and 2 with T4. Lymph node involvement occurred in 5, -1 with N1 and 4 with N2. None had distant metastasis on the first visit. Seven were treated by surgery alone, 3 by surgery followed by radiotherapy, 2 by surgery followed by radio-and chemotherapy, and 1 by optimized supportive care. The surgical resection area was decided by tumor extension. Neck dissection was done in 9. Overall 5-year survival for all cases based on the Kaplan-Meier method was 57%. All with carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma, carcinosarcoma, or large-cell carcinoma remain alive. For those with adenoid cystic carcinoma 5-year survival is 80%, with mucoepidermoid carcinoma 50%, with squamous cell carcinoma 0%, and with carcinosarcoma 0%, respectively. The 5-year survival for stage I subjects was 100%, for stage II 83%, for stage III 50%, and for stage IV 0%. Surgical resection and postoperative radiotherapy were done in cases of minimal extraglandular extension or microscopically positive margins, with satisfactory results. Treatment efficacy for high-grade and advanced stage, however, requires more improvement.

Background The current study aimed to evaluate the significance of an immunohistochemical assessment of tumor suppressor p53 as a prognostic marker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients treated with docetaxel and radiotherapy. Methods The expression of tumor suppressor p53 and its phosphorylated form at the Ser392 residue was retrospectively evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 51 Stage T1-3N0-2M0 (except T1N0 glottis) HNSCC patients who were treated with 10 mg/m 2 /week docetaxel four to six times and received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Results Kaplan–Meier univariate analysis revealed that no difference in rates for overall and disease-free survival (DFS) between patients with p53-positive and -negative tumors ( p = 0.786 and p = 0.924, respectively). The prognostic significance of phosphorylated p53 at the Ser392 residue was neither observed. Conclusions An immunohistochemical assessment of the expression of p53 and its phosphorylated form might not be of clinical use in defining subgroups of patients with poor prognosis.

ヒト乳頭腫ウイルス（human papillomavirus：HPV）は子宮頸癌の発生に関与することが知られているが，近年の分子疫学的検索から頭頸部扁平上皮癌，とくに扁桃原発中咽頭癌へのHPVの関与が明らかになりつつある。HPV感染の有無は扁桃原発の中咽頭癌においては診断としても有用であるばかりでなく，ワクチンの開発，普及が進めば予防，さらには発症数の減少につながる可能性があり，今後の発展が望まれる分野である。本稿ではこれまでに報告されているHPVによる頭頸部癌の発癌メカニズムおよびHPV検出法について概説するとともに当科における中，下咽頭癌症例でのHPV検出についても述べる。

【背景】喉頭癌に対する治療法は単独あるいは化学療法併用での放射線,喉頭微細手術，喉頭部分切除，喉頭亜全摘術，喉頭全摘術など多様化しており，それぞれ治療成績が報告されているが，音声に関するQOLを同一の基準で比較検討した報告は少ない。【目的】各治療法による音声に関するQOLを検証すること。【対象と方法】対象は喉頭癌に対する根治治療を受け，北海道大学病院にて外来経過観察中であり，かつ無病生存が確認された患者137例である。外来経過観察受診時にVOICE-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE（V-RQOL），VOICE HANDICAP INDEX-10（VHI-10）による質問表調査を施行，音声障害を認める例については，GRBASによる聴覚印象評価をあわせて行い，その結果を治療法別に検討した。【結果】対象患者の治療法別V-RQOLスコアの平均値は放射線治療92.6（n=63），化学放射線治療92.9（n=29），レーザー手術85.5（n=14），喉頭全摘術68.4（n=27）であり，既報の結果と矛盾しないと考えられた。V-RQOLはVHI-10と強い相関を示し，聴覚印象Gスコアと中程度の相関を示した。【結論】音声QOL質問表は喉頭癌治療後の音声QOLの評価に有用であると考えられた。

This retrospective study aimed to assess the role of salvage surgery for local recurrence in hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) patients who had received radiotherapy (RT) or concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) as an initial treatment. The local recurrence rate, salvage rate after local recurrence and overall survival rate were investigated in 104 HPC patients who received treatment between 1991 and 2005. Local recurrence in the primary site was observed in 41 patients (rate, 39.4%) of whom only 12 could undergo further salvage surgery. Disease control was achieved in seven of these patients (successful salvage rate, 17.1%). The 5-year overall survival rate was 40.6% in the RT/CRT patient group and successful salvage rates for T1, T2, T3 and T4 primary disease were 33.3% (1/3), 20.0% (4/20), 16.7% (2/12) and 0% (0/6), respectively. Severe postoperative complications such as pharyngo-cutaneous fistula were seen in six patients (50.0%). Prognosis of patients with locally recurring HPC after RT/CRT is poor at any primary T-stage and the incidence of postoperative complication is relatively high. This should be taken into consideration when the initial treatment plan is decided and the choice of salvage surgery for such recurrent cases should be carefully determined.

Background. Comorbidity has an impact on survival in laryngeal cancer in several reports. However, the importance of comorbidity in hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) has not been reported. Methods. A retrospective medical record review of 156 patients with HPC treated between 1995 and 2005 was performed. Comorbid illness was measured by the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the factors related to overall survival. Results. Comorbidity was absent in 55 (35.2%) of the patients, mild in 39 (25%), moderate in 28 (17.9%), and severe in 34 (21.8%). There were statistically significant differences between the survival rates in accord with age, stage, subsite, and comorbidity (45.1% for none or mild vs 27.7% for moderate or severe; p = .0073). Age, stage, and comorbidity were identified as independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion. Comorbidity, along with the clinical stage, should be considered in treatment planning for patients with HPC. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2010

Objective To determine patient-perceived voice-related quality of life in patients treated with various methods based on the results of Voice-Related Quality of Life (VRQOL) and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) questionnaires. Design The VRQOL and VHI-10 questionnaires. Setting University hospital. Patients One hundred thirty-seven patients who had received definitive treatment of laryngeal cancer were followed-up at Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo, Japan, and were alive with no evidence of malignancy at the time of the survey. Main Outcome Measure Patient-perceived voice-related quality of life based on the results of the VRQOL and VHI-10 questionnaires. Results The mean VRQOL scores for patients who had undergone radiotherapy (n = 63), chemoradiotherapy (n = 29), laser surgery (n = 14), or total laryngectomy (n = 27) as final treatment of laryngeal cancer were 92.6, 92.9, 85.5, and 68.4, respectively; the mean VHI-10 scores were 2.87, 2.34, 5.43, and 11.26, respectively. Conclusion The VRQOL and VHI-10 questionnaires are important in judging the overall effectiveness of treatment options for laryngeal cancer.