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Objective: The main objective is to compare the oncologic outcomes of patients with T3 laryngeal cancers who underwent total laryngectomy or organ preservation protocol (OPP) as the initial plan of management.Materials and methods: This is a retrospective study on 120 patients treated for T3 laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers. Patients with functional larynx underwent OPP and dysfunctional larynx underwent upfront laryngectomy. Median follow-up of the patients was 4.6 years.Results: There was a significant difference in 3 year disease-free survival (DFS) between upfront laryngectomy and OPP (73.2 vs. 55.7%; P = 0.028) group but not in 3 year overall survival (73.2 vs. 68.7%, P = 0.8). The rate laryngeal preservation was 65% in CCRT and 44% in only radiotherapy group. At 3 years, the laryngectomy-free survival was 57.2% and the laryngo-esophageal dysfunction-free survival (LEDS) was 53.0%.Conclusion: T3 laryngeal cancers treated with upfront laryngectomy have an improved DFS when compared to those treated with non-surgical modalities. Primary surgery should be offered as an option for selected patients especially when CCRT is not feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1:STN:280:DC%2BB38rjsFyntA%3D%3D. 10.1007/s00405-020-06090-9. 32474648 2 D'Cruz AK, Vaish R, Kapre N, Dandekar M, Gupta S, Hawaldar R. Elective versus therapeutic neck dissection in node-negative oral cancer. 8559523 5 Garrel R, Poissonnet G, Moyà Plana A, Fakhry N, Dolivet G, Lallemant B. Equivalence randomized trial to compare treatment on the basis of sentinel node biopsy versus neck node dissection in operable T1-T2N0 oral and oropharyngeal cancer. [Extracted from the article]

The objective of this study was to examine the clinical and pathological features of squamous cell carcinoma of the Tongue and Buccal Mucosa and understand their differences. This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of 735 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and 665 cases of carcinoma of the buccal mucosa treated by surgery at our hospital. Statistical analysis was done to examine clinical and pathological differences between carcinoma of the tongue and the buccal mucosa with regards to age, gender, clinical T stage/N stage, pathological T stage/N stage, overall stage, grade, thickness, perinodal extension (PNE), lymphovascular emboli (LVE) and perineural invasion (PNI). Statistically significant differences were found for factors like age ( p < 0.001), gender ( p < 0.001), clinical T staging ( p < 0.001) and pathological stage ( p < 0.001), grade of tumor ( p < 0.001) and perineural invasion ( p < 0.001) between carcinoma of the tongue and the buccal mucosa. Forty-eight percent patients in either subsite had pathologically proven node negative necks (pN0, p = 0.88). Multivariate analysis for occult nodal metastases revealed that predictive factors were different for the two subsites. There are significant differences between cancers of the tongue and buccal mucosa for various clinical and pathological factors. This may be a reflection of the underlying differences in their causation and pathophysiology. Squamous cell carcinoma in these two subsites should therefore be regarded as clinico-pathologically distinct entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this retrospective analysis was to understand the length of stay in hospital, the complication rates and the perioperative mortality after various forms of hypopharyngeal reconstructions. This is a retrospective analysis of hypopharyngeal cancer patients who underwent surgery at the Tata Memorial Hospital, during 2005-2010. Of the total 393 patients, 103 required some form of pharyngeal reconstruction. The mean age of this population was 56 with a male to female ratio of 4:1. The mean hospital stay for all patients was 22 days (mean: 22, median: 15) and 17 % were readmitted for various reasons in the first 30 days after the initial discharge from hospital. The overall perioperative mortality was 10 % (10/103) and majority of these patients (6/10) had GPU as part of treatment. Gastric pull up has a high morbidity especially in patients with low albumin levels and should be used judiciously when needed. A comprehensive analysis of clinical and radiological data is helpful for choosing an ideal reconstruction after hypopharyngeal cancer excision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: To report the incidence of occult papillary carcinoma of thyroid in a tertiary care center in India in post-laryngectomy specimen of carcinoma of hypopharynx. Settings and Design: Retrospective analysis. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of incidentally detected papillary carcinoma of thyroid in 358 patients of carcinoma of hypopharynx treated with total/near total laryngectomy at our tertiary care institute from 2005 to 2011. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was performed using the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20.0 (IBM, NY, USA). Percentages were calculated. Results: Thyroid cancer was seen in 7/358 patients with incidence of 2%. Five patients had tumor localized to thyroid gland only. One patient had nodal metastasis with thyroid cancer and one had only metastatic cervical node with normal thyroid gland on final histopathology. Three of these patients (3/7) had a recurrence of carcinoma of hypopharynx within 1 year duration. Conclusions: The incidence of occult papillary carcinoma of thyroid varies from 0.25% to 7% in the Indian literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Advanced head and neck cancers are known to cause swallowing dysfunction due to anatomical and post-treatment changes. Literature is sparse on post-surgical and/or multi-modality therapy-associated swallowing function in advanced oral cancers. We conducted this study to longitudinally assess and compare the pre- and post-therapy swallowing dysfunction associated with locally advanced oral cancers. Methods and Material: A prospective observational longitudinal study was conducted at a tertiary cancer center from 2017 to 2018 including treatment-naive cT4a oral cancer patients (AJCC 7th edition). The assessment was done pre-surgery, post-surgery, and post-adjuvant setting as per the scales (Dysphagia score, Penetration aspiration scale, and Yale pharyngeal residue (vallecular and pyriform fossa). Results: Of the 30 patients in the study, 47.4%, 47.4%, 52.6%, and 47.4% experienced deterioration of Dysphagia score, Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS), vallecula residue, and pyriform residue scores in the postoperative period. And 52.6%, 47.4%, 68.4%, and 57.9% had inferior dysphagia score, PAS, vallecula, and pyriform residue scores even 6 months after completion of adjuvant therapy. The dysphagia score correlated well with other objective assessment scores at different time points. Conclusion: Swallowing functions are significantly affected by surgery and adjuvant therapy and continue to be affected even 6 months after completion of treatment. Appropriate rehabilitation and intervention must be offered to patients to reduce this problem. Dysphagia scores can predict the swallowing status similar to other objective assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Translationally controlled tumour protein (TCTP) is a multifunctional protein elevated in multiple cancers. However, studies on its role in oral carcinogenesis and prognosis are rare. We recently reported the role of its interacting partner, MCL1, in oral cancer progression and outcome. Hence, the present study aimed to assess TCTP expression in oral tumorigenesis and its association with patient outcomes alone and in combination with MCL1. Methods: TCTP expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting in oral tissues and cells, respectively. Cell viability post siRNA/dihydroartemisinin treatment was analysed by tetrazolium salt assay. Cell survival, invasion and tumorigenic potential post TCTP knockdown were assessed by clonogenic, Matrigel and soft‐agar assays, respectively. The association of TCTP with patient outcome was analysed by Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression. Results: TCTP was significantly overexpressed in oral premalignant lesions (p < 0.0001), oral tumours (p < 0.0001) and oral dysplastic and cancer cells versus normal oral mucosa and also in recurrent (p < 0.05) versus non‐recurrent oral tumours. Further, elevated TCTP was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with poor recurrence free survival (RFS) and poor overall survival (OS; hazard ratio = 2.29; p < 0.05). Intriguingly, the high co‐expression of TCTP and MCL1 further reduced the RFS (p < 0.05) and OS (p < 0.05; hazard‐ratio = 3.49; p < 0.05). Additionally, TCTP knockdown decreased survival (p < 0.05), invasion (p < 0.01) and in vitro tumorigenic potential (p < 0.0001). Dihydroartemisinin treatment reduced TCTP levels and viability of oral cancer cells. Conclusion: Our studies demonstrate an oncogenic role of TCTP in oral cancer progression and poor outcome. Thus, TCTP may be a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target in oral cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: T4 squamous cell carcinomas of the buccal mucosa is known to have ominous outcome. The aim of this study was to develop a nomogram for T4 buccal mucosa cancer patients and demonstrate the difference in survival based on prognosticators beyond those covered by the traditional TNM staging system.Methods: We examined medical records of treatment naïve 205 T4 buccal mucosa cancer patients operated between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2014. A nomogram was developed using multivariate cox-regression. The nomogram was validated internally by bootstrapping and externally in an independent validation set.Results: The nomogram for predicting 3-year overall survival was built using Tumor differentiation, Pathological Lymph node involvement, Bone and Perineural invasion. Based on nomogram, a score was assigned to each patient and they were divided into two groups based on Youden derived cut-off value (13.5). These two groups in training and validation set showed significant difference in survival.Conclusion: We developed a high performance, accurate and efficient nomogram to predict the probability of 3-year survival in T4 buccal mucosa cancer patients. Intensification of adjuvant treatment in these advanced cancer patients with poorer score might improve their survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited data exists regarding the impact of intensification of adjuvant therapy in resected Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OCSCC) with adverse prognostic features on histopathology. This was a three-arm phase III, randomised trial including patients with resected advanced OCSCC. Randomisation was done in a 1:1:1 ratio: Arm-A- standard adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) 60Gy/30 fractions over 6 weeks versus Arm-B-concurrent chemoradiation versus Arm-C-accelerated radiation therapy (6 d a week). The trial was powered to detect an absolute difference of 10% in 5-year Locoregional Control (LRC). The trial was conducted between June 2005 and March 2013. Majority of the patients were males, had T3-T4 disease, had N2–N3 nodal status and had Extra-Capsular Extension (ECE) in nodes. The median follow-up was 95.9 months. There was no difference between the three arms (A versus B versus C) for 10-year locoregional control (LRC): 60.2% versus 61.4% versus 65.7%, p = 0.57; disease free survival (DFS): 37.4% versus 43.9% versus 39.6%, p = 0.40; or Overall Survival (OS): 39.7% versus 46.6% versus 40.4%, p = 0.40. There was no benefit of intensification with either modality in patients with any single adverse pathological factor. A benefit of intensification could be seen in patients with a combination of high-risk features: T3-T4 primary tumours with N2–N3 nodes along with ECE for DFS (Arm B versus Arm A HR) = 0.53, Arm C versus Arm A HR = 0.63) and OS (Arm B versus Arm A HR = 0.58, Arm C versus Arm A HR = 0.60). All optimally resected OCSCC with adverse features did not benefit from intensification of adjuvant therapy. Only a cohort of patients with a combination of high-risk features are likely candidates for intensification. NCT00193843. • Phase III RCT comparing adjuvant radiation therapy versus CTRT versus accelerated radiation therapy in high risk oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas. • 900 patients accrued (1:1:1 randomisation), positive margins in <1% patients. • No benefit in outcomes with intensification in overall population (n = 900). • No benefit in patients with isolated extra-capsular extension , lymphovascular embolisation , perineural invasion or high T stage. • Benefit seen with coexistent T3-T4, N2–N3 and extra-capsular extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite being situated in a visible and highly accessible site, many patients with oral cancers seek medical care in very advanced stages. Advanced cancers not only affect the prognosis poorly, but also increase the burden of care.The medical and social factors influencing the delay in seeking medical care were analysed in this study. Material and methods: This was a prospective observational study on 201 patients presenting with large primary lesions (T3,T4a) treated surgically during September–November 2011. A detailed history was taken using a predefined questionnaire. Results: Mean age of the patients was 48years. Patients had cancers of gingivobuccal complex or tongue. The mean duration of symptoms was seven months. The treatment was delayed due to poor medical advice by primary clinicians in 50% patients while in others due to lack of awareness, difficult access to medical care and poor financial status. Delays were divided into Primary, Secondary & Tertiary delays. Primary delay was defined as time duration from onset of symptoms to seeking medical advice. Secondary delay was the time duration from seeking medical advice to tertiary care centre.Tertiary delay was the time duration from seeking medical advice at our institution to final treatment. Primary delay was longest when calculated in terms of mean (2.75months) followed by secondary delay (1.94months) and significant tertiary delay (1.4months). Conclusions: There were significant delays in referring patients to tertiary care centres. 70% presented 3months and 30% presented 6months after the initial symptom. Educational status was not related to stage of disease, 61% being secondary pass. Majority of lesions were observed by patients themselves (85%) indicating that oral self examination have a role in the early detection of disease. There was lack of awareness among trained medical personnel with delayed referral to specialist care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue is one of the most common cancers of the oral cavity.The over all survival (OS) varies from 80% to 30% and depends on several factors like T stage, nodal status and grade. Tumor thickness more than 4mm is often reported to have significantly higher occult nodal metastasis compared to thinner ones. However, only a few studies have correlated the tumor thickness with survival. Most of these studies were done on a limited number of patients spanning more than 10years. Hence, in this study we analyzed several factors including thickness that can influence survival in tongue cancers. Patients and methods: The electronic medical records of patients with pathologically proved squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue operated at Tata Memorial Hospital, a tertiary cancer center, between January 2007 and June 2010 were screened for the study. Cases were selected based on the following eligibility criteria: (1) Treatment naı¨ve; (2) surgery as the first-line treatment; (3) carcinoma of the tongue being the index lesion. Of the total 877 patients screened, 586 patients were eligible for the study. The clinical and demographic details as well as the histopathological data of these patients were obtained from the hospital maintained medical records. Information regarding patient survival and disease status was also retrieved from medical records and by telephonic interview.Follow-up details were available for 498 (85%) patients with a median follow-up of 18months (range: 1–63months). Results: Out of the 586 patients included in the study, 416 (70%) were men and 170 (30%) were women, aged between 20 and 80years (mean: 47years, median: 48years). Majority of these patients (402, 68.8%) had moderately differentiated tumors, followed by poorly differentiated in 152 (25.9%) and well differentiated in 39 (6.6%) cases. All patients had surgery as the first line of management. These patients were staged based on the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system 6. Clinically 69 (12%) patients had T1 disease, 286 (49%) had T2 disease, 126 (21%) had T3 disease and 105 (18%) had T4 disease (ref table 2). 110 (31%) cases who were clinically node negative (N0) had occult nodal metastasis on final histopathological examination. Of the 311(53.7%) cases who had pathologically positive nodes, 205 cases (65.9%) had extracapsular spread (ECS). With a median follow up of 18months, the median disease free survival was 17months, and median over all survival was 18months. 195 patients developed recurrence, predominantly regional (85 patients). While ECS, PNI, gender and thickness affected the disease free survival, Age, ECS, Pathological T stage and tumor thickness were found to be significantly affecting the overall survival on multivariate analysis. Tumor thickness more than 10mm affected the overall survival significantly. Conclusion: Apart from the known clinical factors like nodal metastasis, ECS, perineural invasion, tumor thickness is an important factor for prognosis in oral tongue cancers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Occult lymph-node metastasis is a crucial predictor of tongue cancer mortality, with an unmet need to understand the underlying mechanism. Our immunohistochemical and real-time PCR analysis of 208 tongue tumors show overexpression of Matrix Metalloproteinase, MMP10, in 86% of node-positive tongue tumors (n = 79; p < 0.00001). Additionally, global profiling for non-coding RNAs associated with node-positive tumors reveals that of the 11 significantly de-regulated miRNAs, miR-944 negatively regulates MMP10 by targeting its 3'-UTR. We demonstrate that proliferation, migration, and invasion of tongue cancer cells are suppressed by MMP10 knockdown or miR-944 overexpression. Further, we show that depletion of MMP10 prevents nodal metastases using an orthotopic tongue cancer mice model. In contrast, overexpression of MMP10 leads to opposite effects upregulating epithelial-mesenchymal-transition, mediated by a tyrosine kinase gene, AXL, to promote nodal and distant metastasis in vivo. Strikingly, AXL expression is essential and sufficient to mediate the functional consequence of MMP10 overexpression. Consistent with our findings, TCGA-HNSC data suggests overexpression of MMP10 or AXL positively correlates with poor survival of the patients. In conclusion, our results establish that the miR-944/MMP10/AXL- axis underlies lymph node metastases with potential therapeutic intervention and prediction of nodal metastases in tongue cancer patients. MMP10, which is upregulated in 86% of primary tongue tumors with lymph node metastases, is negatively regulated by miR-944 and promotes nodal metastasis in an orthotopic tongue cancer mouse model through the AXL signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a subset of head and neck cancers (HNC) has been associated worldwide with mucosal high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), information on the prevalence of HPVpositive HNC in India is limited. In this study, we examined the prevalence of 21 subtypes of HPV in sub-sites of HNC (n = 175) in the western region of India. Type-specific multiplex genotyping assay was conducted at the Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, Tata Memorial Centre, to determine the prevalence of HPV subtypes. The HPV prevalence was observed to be 28.43%, 41.67%, 38.89% and 15.79% in the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx tumour tissues, respectively. The HPV 16 genotype was most common in all HNC tumour tissues (30.29%), followed by HPV 58 (0.57%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously reported a survival benefit of elective neck dissection (END) over therapeutic neck dissection (TND) in patients with clinically node-negative early-stage oral cancer. We now report the results of the second question in the same study addressing the impact of adding neck ultrasound to physical examination during follow-up on outcomes. Patients with lateralized T1/T2 oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were randomized to END or TND and to follow-up with physical-examination plus neck ultrasound (PE+US) versus physical-examination (PE). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Between January 2004 and June 2014, 596 patients were enrolled. This is an intention to treat analysis of 592 analysable patients, of whom 295 were allocated to PE+US and 297 to PE with a median follow-up of 77.47 months (interquartile range (IQR) 54.51–126.48). There was no significant difference (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.92, 95% CI, 0.71–1.20, p = 0.54) in 5-year OS between PE+US (70.8%, 95% CI, 65.51−76.09) and PE (67.3%, 95% CI, 61.81−72.79). Among 131 patients with neck node relapse as the first event, the median time to relapse detection was 4.85 (IQR 2.33–9.60) and 7.62 (IQR 3.22–9.86) months in PE+US and PE arms, respectively. The N stage in the PE+US arm was N1 33.8%, N2a 7.4%, N2b/c 44.1% and N3 14.7% while in PE was N1 28.6%, N2a 9.5%, N2b/c 39.7%, N3 20.6% and unknown 1.6%. Adding neck ultrasound to physical examination during follow-up detects nodal relapses earlier but does not improve overall survival. • 596 patients with node-negative early oral cancers randomized to PE+US and PE arm. • Median follow-up of trial cohort 77.47 months. • Adding neck US to PE during follow-up detects nodal relapses earlier. • Median time to relapse detection was 4.85 months in PE+US and 7.62 months in PE arm. • This, however, did not translate into an improvement in overall survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a subset of head and neck cancers (HNC) has been associated worldwide with mucosal high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), information on the prevalence of HPVpositive HNC in India is limited. In this study, we examined the prevalence of 21 subtypes of HPV in sub-sites of HNC (n = 175) in the western region of India. Type-specific multiplex genotyping assay was conducted at the Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, Tata Memorial Centre, to determine the prevalence of HPV subtypes. The HPV prevalence was observed to be 28.43%, 41.67%, 38.89% and 15.79% in the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx tumour tissues, respectively. The HPV 16 genotype was most common in all HNC tumour tissues (30.29%), followed by HPV 58 (0.57%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The submandibular glands (SMGs) excision during head-and-neck oncosurgeries lead to significant morbidity and degradation of quality of life (QOL). The preservation of SMGs during head-and-neck oncosurgeries, without affecting oncological safety, will improve QOL by preventing xerostomia in these patients. Aims: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the involvement of SMG by malignancy during neck dissection being done for the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of tongue and to evaluate oncological safety of SMG preservation in SCC of the tongue. Settings and Design: The study design was a retrospective analytical study. Subjects and Methods: The study included 391 patients of SCC of tongue operated at Quaternary oncological center from January 2016 to February 2020. The treatment records of 371 patients were reviewed for demographical data, nodal metastasis, and histopathological involvement of SMG by SCC. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS 22. Results: A total of 555 necks dissected were assessed, out of which 95 necks dissected were positive for nodal metastasis at level Ib. The SMG was involved by SCC in only two cases, both of which were poorly differentiated SCC. No intraglandular lymph nodes were detected in any of the SMG dissected. Conclusions: The study showed that involvement of the SMG by SCC of the tongue is not very common, and it may be possible to preserve the SMG during neck dissection in selected cases in SCC of the tongue. The preservation will definitely improve QOL of the patients, as excision of the SMG is one of the prominent factors, resulting in xerostomia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The submandibular glands (SMGs) excision during head-and-neck oncosurgeries lead to significant morbidity and degradation of quality of life (QOL). The preservation of SMGs during head-and-neck oncosurgeries, without affecting oncological safety, will improve QOL by preventing xerostomia in these patients.Aims: The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the involvement of SMG by malignancy during neck dissection being done for the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of tongue and to evaluate oncological safety of SMG preservation in SCC of the tongue. Settings and Design: The study design was a retrospective analytical study.Subjects and Methods: The study included 391 patients of SCC of tongue operated at Quaternary oncological center from January 2016 to February 2020. The treatment records of 371 patients were reviewed for demographical data, nodal metastasis, and histopathological involvement of SMG by SCC. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS 22.Results: A total of 555 necks dissected were assessed, out of which 95 necks dissected were positive for nodal metastasis at level Ib. The SMG was involved by SCC in only two cases, both of which were poorly differentiated SCC. No intraglandular lymph nodes were detected in any of the SMG dissected.Conclusions: The study showed that involvement of the SMG by SCC of the tongue is not very common, and it may be possible to preserve the SMG during neck dissection in selected cases in SCC of the tongue. The preservation will definitely improve QOL of the patients, as excision of the SMG is one of the prominent factors, resulting in xerostomia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have highlighted multiple immune perturbations related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection–associated respiratory disease [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19)]. Some of them were associated with immunopathogenesis of severe COVID‐19. However, reports on immunological indicators of severe COVID‐19 in the early phase of infection in patients with comorbidities such as cancer are scarce. We prospectively studied about 200 immune response parameters, including a comprehensive immune‐cell profile, inflammatory cytokines and other parameters, in 95 patients with COVID‐19 (37 cancer patients without active disease and intensive chemo/immunotherapy, 58 patients without cancer) and 21 healthy donors. Of 95 patients, 41 had severe disease, and the remaining 54 were categorized as having a nonsevere disease. We evaluated the association of immune response parameters with severe COVID‐19. By principal component analysis, three immune signatures defining characteristic immune responses in COVID‐19 patients were found. Immune cell perturbations, in particular, decreased levels of circulating dendritic cells (DCs) along with reduced levels of CD4 T‐cell subsets such as regulatory T cells (Tregs), type 1 T helper (Th1) and Th9; additionally, relative expansion of effector natural killer (NK) cells were significantly associated with severe COVID‐19. Compared with patients without cancer, the levels of terminal effector CD4 T cells, Tregs, Th9, effector NK cells, B cells, intermediate‐type monocytes and myeloid DCs were significantly lower in cancer patients with mild and severe COVID‐19. We concluded that severely depleted circulating myeloid DCs and helper T subsets in the initial phase of infection were strongly associated with severe COVID‐19 independent of age, type of comorbidity and other parameters. Thus, our study describes the early immune response associated with severe COVID‐19 in cancer patients without intensive chemo/immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The effect of BMI on development of perioperative complications in head and neck cancer surgeries is not welldefined. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the development of surgical complications during the perioperative period in head and neck carcinoma (HNC) patients. Materials and methods: This study was conducted from 2019 to 2020. Electronic medical records of 210 patients undergoing major (clean-contaminated) surgeries were analysed. Chi-square test or Fisher exact test for determining association in categorical data and independent T-test or Mann-Whitney U test for comparison between the presence of complications and relation with continuous clinical parameters were used. Results: The majority of patients were within normal-weight range (68.57%). Only 12.85% of patients had BMI under 18.5 kg/m2 and 18.57% of patients had BMI equal to or more than 25 kg/m2. Coexisting comorbidities were present in 48.7% of patients with BMI of more than 25 kg/m2. Major and minor complications were present in 10.5% and 16.7% of all patients, respectively. Surgical site infections were present in 18.1% of patients. There was no statistical difference in the rate of complications (major, minor and SSI) in underweight, normal weight and overweight categories. The complications were significantly associated with the extent of surgery (P = 0.00413) and blood loss of more than 775 mL (P-value 0.005). Conclusions: In conclusion, the rate of surgical complications in head and neck onco-surgeries is not related to BMI of the patients. The perioperative management of these patients might require some modification due to co-existing comorbidities, but the overall impact on the development of complications could not be proven in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aims of this study are to evaluate the impact of frozen section in achieving adequate surgical margin and to study the accuracy of frozen section in detection of occult metastases. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective review of prospectively collected data of 877 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue who underwent surgery and intra-operative frozen section at our center from January 2007 to June 2010. Results: Frozen section was found to have very high accuracy in assessment of margin as well nodal status. On frozen section, 2% of our patients had positive margins and 21% had close margins. Most of these underwent intra-operative revision and at final pathology, 1.2% patients had positive margins and 11% were close. Of the 651 supraomohyoid neck dissections performed, one third were found to have occult metastases on frozen section. Of those reported positive on frozen section, 68% got additional removal of level 4 ??5. Interestingly, 11% of these additionally removed nodes harbored metastases at final pathology. However, 7% of the patients were wrongly declared negative on frozen section. Tumor thickness was predictor of margin positivity as well as occult metastases. Tumor volume did not correlate with occult metastases or margin status Conclusions: Frozen section nearly halves the rates of positive margin and close margins which certainly translates into clinical benefits. The incidence of 11% positive nodes in the frozen section guided removal of lower levels is an important finding in our study that questions the ability of supraomohyoid neck dissection to completely eradicate the nodal burden in such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Narrow band imaging (NBI) is a novel method with the potential to improve the diagnostic capability of white-light. Methods: A prospective observational study of 50 consecutive patients, with suspicious malignant/premalignant lesions. White-light images were assessed as suspicious for malignancy/negative for malignancy, whereas NBI images were classified based on the IPCL patterns. All lesions underwent biopsy and accuracy was compared with the histopathology (Fig. 1). Results: 25 lesions (49%) were positive for malignancy, 2 (3.9%) lesions showed severe dysplasia, and 24(47%) were considered negative on histopathology. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of white light and NBI in detecting invasive carcinoma was 74.07%, 79.17%, 80.00%, 73.08% and 76.47%, and 92.67%, 90.16%, 92.56%, 91.67% and 92.16% respectively. The NBI group had a significantly better sensitivity and specificity to white light. The interobserver concordance was κ = 0.881. Conclusion: NBI is a highly effective tool to detect invasive carcinomas amongst suspicious lesions of the oral cavity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the potential of Raman spectroscopy (RS) in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) in oral cancer patients has been explored. Raman spectra were obtained from the tumor and contralateral regions of 94 oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. These patients were managed surgically and recommended for adjuvant therapy. The Cox proportional survival analysis was carried out to identify the spectral regions that can be correlated to DFS. The survival analysis was performed with 95% confidence intervals, hazard ratio, and p-values in the 1200-1800 cm−1 spectral region. Out of a total of 182 spectral points, 76 were found to be correlating with DFS, suggesting their utility to predict the patient outcome. The cut-off points of each correlating RS-point values were defined and tested towards predicting the DFS. The performance of predicting the power of spectral points was validated through Brier value, and it was found to be closer to the actual progression. The 76 spectral points identified from the tumors have the potential to accurately predict DFS in oral squamous cell carcinoma through a relatively simplistic prediction model in the absence of confounding factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Overexpression of anti-apoptotic MCL-1 protein in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is linked to disease progression, therapy resistance and poor outcome. Despite its characteristic short half-life owing to ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation, oral tumours frequently show elevated MCL-1 protein expression. Hence, we investigated the role of deubiquitinase USP9X in stabilising MCL-1 protein and its contribution to oral tumorigenesis.Methods: Expression of MCL-1 and USP9X was assessed by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry in oral cancer cell lines and tissues. The association between MCL-1 and USP9X was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence. Cell death assessment was performed by MTT, flow cytometry and clonogenic assays.Results: Both USP9X and MCL-1 are significantly elevated in oral premalignant lesions and oral tumours versus normal mucosa. USP9X interacts with and deubiquitinates MCL-1, thereby stabilising it. Pharmacological inhibition of USP9X potently induced cell death in OSCC cells in vitro and in vivo. The elevated expression of USP9X and MCL-1 correlated with poor prognosis in OSCC patients.Conclusion: We demonstrate the oncogenic role of USP9X in driving early-to-late stages of oral tumorigenesis via stabilisation of MCL-1, suggesting its potential as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in oral cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to retrospectively review clinical data, management protocols, and clinical outcomes of patients with fibromatoses of head and neck region treated at our tertiary care center. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 11 patients with confirmed histopathological diagnosis of fibromatosis registered in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at Tata Memorial Centre, India, between 2009 and 2019. Various clinical and pathological features and treatment modalities were evaluated. Results: Age at diagnosis ranged between 18 and 74 years, with a median age of 36 years. The female-to-male ratio was 5:6. Supraclavicular fossa (n=4) was the most common subsite of origin in the neck (n=8). The lateral (n=2) and posterior cervical regions (n=2) were other common neck subsites. Less commonly involved sites were the mandible (n=1), maxilla (n=1), and thyroid (n=1). A total of eight patients underwent surgery at other centers before being referred to us for further management. Out of a total 11 patients, nine patients had unresectable disease at presentation. Six of the patients with unresectable disease received a combination of weekly doses of vinblastine 6 mg/m2 and methotrexate 30 mg/m2 for a median duration of 6 months (range 6–18 months) followed by hormonal therapy with tamoxifen. Three patients received metronomic chemotherapy followed by hormonal therapy. One treatment-naive patient with fibromatosis of posterior cervical (suboccipital) region underwent R2 resection (excision of bulk of the tumor with preservation of critical structures) at our center along with adjuvant radiotherapy. One pregnant patient reported to us after undergoing surgery outside and defaulting radiotherapy. During median follow-up of 29 months (range 1–77 months), six patients had stable disease, and four patients had disease reduction. Disease progression was seen in one patient. The two-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 90% (95% CI 70%–100%). Conclusion: Gross residual resection (R2) was the mainstay of surgical treatment in our series, as obtaining clear surgical margins is seldom possible in these locally aggressive tumors. Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy are the other preferred and more conservative treatment modalities. The goal of surgery should be preserving function with minimal or no morbidity. As fibromatoses in the head and neck region are extremely rare, their treatment awaits the development of standard treatment protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature often cites margin status as being free, close or involved by tumor but there is very sparse evidence of the relevance of dysplasia at resection margin. Aims/Objectives: To compare the impact of dysplasia at final resection margin (D-FRM) and other margin statuses on overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS). This is a retrospective review of 1700 treatment naïve oral squamous carcinoma patients who underwent surgery between January 2012 and December 2015. The study arm consisted of patients with dysplasia at final resection margin (D-FRM). Each of these patients were double propensity matched to obtain positive (P-FRM), close (C-FRM) and free final resection margins (F-FRM). There was no hazard discrimination in survival among the D-FRM and C-FRM (vs F-FRM; p-0.597, HR-1.207 (0.621–2.346) and p-0.075, HR-1.594 (0.947–2.684), respectively). A decreasing survival trend was observed as the grade and number of D-FRM margins increased. Although not significant, the addition of adjuvant therapy for D-FRM showed a trend towards improved survival outcomes compared to C-FRM, especially with chemotherapy. Conclusion and relevance: The presence of D-FRM, irrespective of grade, had a similar impact on survival as C-FRM and underscores the possible need for treatment intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sarcomatoid variant of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is aggressive tumors that frequently recur and metastasize. Our aim was to determine the survival outcomes and factors that predict its incidence in recurrent and second primary tumors (SPT).Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of SPT and recurrent OSCC cases with sarcomatoid differentiation. The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with SPT and recurrent sarcomatoid OSCC. Recursive partitioning was performed to classify the sample based on the clinicopathological factors of the index tumor.Results: A total of 82 patients were included in the study with a median survival, calculated from the date of diagnosis of recurrence or SPT, of 6 months (recurrence-2 months, SPT-8 months). The 3-year OS for the recurrence group was 19.9% and for SPT group was 29%. Perineural invasion in the index tumor was significantly associated with sarcomatoid differentiation in the recurrent tumor. At one end of the spectrum of the recursive partitioning were the SPTs that had small index tumor sizes and DOI/thickness less than 14.5 cm (lowest risk), and at the other end were recurrent diseases that had index tumors of advanced T stage (highest risk).Conclusion: Sarcomatoid variant in the recurrent/SPT OSCC infers a poor prognosis. Recurrent disease that had an index tumor with advanced T stage carries the worst outcomes. Perineural invasion in the index tumor can help predict the presence of sarcomatoid carcinoma in the recurrent or SPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of frozen section (FS) in detecting occult nodal metastasis in cN0 OSCC and its impact on regional failure and survival. Materials and methods: Clinical records of patients of OSCC operated from January 2013 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. These patients were divided into two groups—Group A comprised of patients who underwent selective neck dissection (SND) (level III/IV) and FS based completion (level IV ± V); Group B included patients who underwent SND I–III/IV without FS. The sensitivity and specificity of FS in detecting occult metastasis was calculated. The regional failure rates and overall survival (OS) between the two groups were compared. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, PPV (positive predictive value) and NPV (negative predictive value) of FS in detecting occult metastasis were 64.06%, 100%, 100%, and 92.15%, respectively. There was no significant difference in regional failure rates (p = 0.219) and OS (p = 0.08) between the two groups. Conclusion: FS has a poor sensitivity in detecting occult nodal metastasis. FS-guided neck dissection does not have a significant impact in reducing regional failure or improving OS in clinically node-negative neck in oral cavity carcinomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A sea of literature addressing the adequacy of mucosal/soft tissue surgical margins in oral cavity cancers is available, but no mention exists regarding bony margins. We aim to study the predictors and impact on survival of positive bony margins and propose a safe margin distance.Methods: This is a retrospective study of 400 consecutive surgically treated pT4 oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma patients between January 2012 and December 2015. The factors predicting positive bony margins were determined using chi-square test. Kaplan Meier and Cox regression hazard models were used for survival analysis. The median follow up was 36 months.Results: The only factor that significantly predicted positive bony margins was lymphovascular emboli. The 3-year OS with bony margin positivity was 36.9%, compared to 67.5% for patients with adequate margins. When the tumor infiltrated the bone beyond mucosa (20.25%) the survival outcomes were significantly worse than the other patterns. Microscopic spread was seen in 10% cases, at a distance of 8 mm, the presence of which significantly impacted survival outcomes. Analysis of the receiver operating curve identified a cutoff of more than 15 mm as appropriate for classifying adequate bony margins. When the margins were taken above this, a significant positive impact on survival outcomes was present.Conclusion: The presence of lymphovascular emboli may impact the status of bony margins. Based on our results, to achieve an "adequate margin in bone" we propose taking the bony cut at least 15 mm away from the clinically discernible tumor when treating advanced oral cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Routine use of frozen section (FS) is a costly procedure and sparsely available in resource poor countries. A proper cost benefit analysis may help to reduce its routine use and would empower surgeons to perform oral cancer surgeries without having FS facility. FS is performed to identify microscopic spread beyond gross disease that cannot be assessed clinically.Objective: Our primary aim was to determine the cost benefit analysis of FS in the assessment of margins in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).Materials and Methods: Retrospective study of prospectively collected data of 1311 consecutive patients who were operated between January 2012 and October 2013. The gross and microscopic margin status of each patient was extracted from the patient's chart. The cost estimates were performed to calculate the financial burden of FS as well as expenses incurred on adjuvant treatment resulting from inadequate margins.Result: Microscopic spread changed the gross margin status in 5.2% (65/1237) patients. Of this entire cohort of 1237 patients, FS helped 29 (2.3%) patients to achieve tumor free margin, and it changed the adjuvant treatment plan in 9 (0.7%) patients. The cost of FS for each patient was INR 11052. The cost-benefit ratio of FS was 12:1. Gross examination alone could have identified majority of the inadequate margins.Conclusion: Frozen section for assessment of margin status bears poor cost-benefit ratio. Meticulous gross examination of the entire surgical specimen is sufficient to identify majority of inadequate margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Various studies have associated inflammation with carcinogenesis. But still, the role of inflammatory markers in oral cancer has not been evaluated extensively. Most of the existing studies have been done on patients of varied sites, and their sample size is also scarce. In this study, we have evaluated the impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-tolymphocyte ratio (PLR) on various clinicopathological factors and survival. Methodology: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of 400 patients with oral squamous cell cancer. The pretreatment neutrophil and lymphocyte and platelet counts were recorded, and NLR and PLR were calculated for all patients. The NLR and PLR tertiles were correlated with the incidence of various clinicopathological factors and overall survival. Results: The median follow-up of the cohort was 36 months. The mean survival of the cohort was 41.7 months. PLR was associated with higher incidence of adverse clinicopathological factors. There was a trend of decreased overall survival with increasing NLR tertile. It was found to be significant only for the group which received adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (P 0.01). Patients with higher PLR values have been found to have a lower overall survival (P 0.006). Conclusion: NLR and PLR can be used to predict survival and outcomes in patients oral cavity cancer. PLR is a good predictor for adverse clinicopathological factors and survival. NLR can predict survival only in the subset of patients who have received chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In this study we have tried to analyze the impact of age on various clinico-pathological parameters, treatment completion and subsequent survival in older patients.Materials and methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 140 elderly (> 65 years) patients of oral cancer operated between January 2012 and December 2013. The patients were divided into two groups based upon their age that ≤ 70 years and > 70 years.Association of distribution of various clinico-pathological factors between different groups was assessed by using Chi-square test. Survival analysis was done using Kaplan Meir analysis. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed.Results: The two groups had similar distribution of various clinico-pathological factors. Disease free survival for the group ≤ 70 and > 70 years was 37.6 months and 36.4 months (p < 0.594). 13.5% and 7.8% patients > 70 years and ≤ 70 years were either advised or received sub-optimal adjuvant therapy (p < 0.002).Conclusion: There is no difference distribution of various clinico-pathological factors and survival in patients of oral cancer ≤ 70 and > 70 years of age. Age did not affect survival. Majority of patients could complete the adjuvant therapy advised. Still, significantly more number of patients > 70 years could not receive/complete appropriate adjuvant therapy. Thus treatment needs to be tailored keeping in mind the individual's performance status and the co-morbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The etiology of verrucous lesions of the oral cavity is debatable, and many western studies attribute it to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Although most Indian studies have found a strong association with tobacco chewing, the role of HPV has not been studied in the Indian context. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted on the clinicopathological profile of 21 consecutive patients of verrucous lesions of the oral cavity. The patients were evaluated on the basis of addictions, pretreatment biopsy, p16 immunohistochemistry (IHC), and histopathological parameters. Results: Preoperative incisional biopsy revealed no dysplasia in 52.38%, mild-to-moderate dysplasia in 19.04%, and invasive carcinoma in 28.57% of the patients. About 67% of patients underwent surgical excision in our institute all of whom had invasive malignancy on final histopathology. This included 42.85% patients whose initial biopsy was no or mild dysplasia. All of the patients were negative for p16 IHC. Conclusions: Verrucous lesions in Indian population are caused by smokeless tobacco unlike that in the western countries where HPV is the main etiology. Clinical distinction between benign and malignant lesions is difficult, and we recommend complete surgical excision of the lesion with adequate margins whenever possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the absence of any robust data supporting the TNM classification of T4 buccal mucosa cancers, we did this prospective study to compare the oncologic outcomes of T4a and T4b buccal mucosa cancer patients.Patients and Methods: This is a prospective study of 210 treatment naïve T4 buccal mucosa cancer patients. All patients underwent upfront radical surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (RT)/chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). This is the largest prospective series in the literature on T4 buccal cancers.Results: T4a disease was seen in 135(64.3%) patients and T4b in 75(35.7%) patients. On comparison between all T4a and T4b cases, a significant difference was observed with regard to 3-year local control (49.6% vs. 41.1%: p-0.025) and disease-free survival (DFS) (65.3% vs. 42%: p-0.035) with a slightly higher incidence of distant metastasis in T4b patients (17.3% vs. 9.6%). Inadequate cut margin (<5 mm) was seen only in 7.4% patients with T4a disease and 12% patients with T4b disease. When patients with adequate cut margins were considered for analysis, local recurrence rate was similar for T4a (26/135; 19.3%) and T4b (15/66; 22.7%) disease suggesting the importance of radical surgery in infra-notch T4b buccal cancers. While the 3-year survival for T4a patients who received adjuvant RT alone was 72.2%, it was only 42.1% for similar T4b patients suggesting a need to intensify adjuvant treatment for these patients.Conclusion: Surgery should be considered as the primary modality of treatment for T4b patients, where clear margins are achievable. The benefit of treatment intensification with adjuvant CCRT should be explored in T4b buccal cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas differ significantly from that of other subsites of oral cavity in relation to clinical behavior. They are more aggressive and have a poorer prognosis. The treatment of choice of early (stage I and II) tongue cancers is surgery. The need for adjuvant treatment is decided on the basis of the histopathology report of the surgical specimen. High-risk patients (positive surgical margins, perineural invasion, lymphovascular spread, lymph node metastasis, and extracapsular extension) receive adjuvant treatment while others are observed. Unfortunately, in the apparently low-risk patients who are observed, there is a high rate of locoregional failure. There are certain histopathology parameters though not routinely validated may be of prognostic significance in this subset of patients. In this review, we have highlighted the importance of the routinely validated and the nonvalidated histopathology parameters and their proper assessment in the decision-making for adjuvant treatment of patients with early tongue cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Presence of extracapsular spread (ECS) significantly decreases survival in oral cancer patients. Considering its prognostic impact, we have studied the incidence and factors predicting ECS in clinically node negative early oral cancers.Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 354 treatment naïve clinically node negative early oral cancer patients operated between 2012 and 2014. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used for identifying predictors of ECS, while cox-regression test was used for survival analysis.Results: The incidence of occult nodal metastasis was 28.5% (101/354). Among them, ECS was seen in 15.3%(54/354) patients. The incidence of ECS in T1 and T2 lesion was 13.4% (21/157) and 16.8% (33/197), respectively. The overall incidence of ECS was 48% and 29% in lymph nodes smaller than 10 mm and 5 mm respectively. We found that tumor depth of invasion (>5 mm; p-0.027) and node (metastatic) size >15 mm (p-0.018) were significant predictors of ECS. p N2b disease was seen in 41/354 (11.6%) of which 31/354 (8.7%) had ECS, i.e. 75.6% of pN2b patients been ECS positive (p-0.000). The 3-year OS of patients without nodal metastasis, nodal metastasis without ECS and nodal metastasis with ECS was 88.4%, 66.9% and 59.2% (p-0.000) respectively.Conclusion: A significant number of patients with metastatic nodal size less than 1 cm have ECS which suggests aggressive behavior of the primary tumor. Thus, elective neck dissection is the only way of detecting ECS in these patients which may warrant treatment intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parotid cancers are uncommon and have a relatively long natural history. Determination of prognostic factors affecting the outcome is difficult.Materials and Methods: The primary objective was to determine the demographic, clinical, histopathology and treatment-related factors affecting overall survival (OS) in parotid cancers. The secondary objective was to study the impact of these factors on disease-free survival (DFS) and patterns of failure. Data of consecutive patients who underwent parotidectomy for primary parotid malignancy between July 2006 and April 2015 with at least 6 months of posttreatment follow-up were retrospectively retrieved. Patients whose follow-up status was known at the time of analysis were included. One hundred and sixty-five patients met the inclusion criteria.Results: The median follow-up was 38 months. The mean OS and DFS were 141.03 and 124.38 months, respectively. Age > 45 years affected both OS and DFS (P = 0.00 and 0.002 respectively) adversely. Advanced T stage affected adversely OS in univariate (P = 0.00) but not in multivariate analysis (P = 0.91) and DFS in both univariate (P = 0.00) and multivariate analysis (P = 0.005). Nodal positivity adversely affected survival adversely in univariate (P = 0.00 for OS and DFS) and multivariate analysis (P = 0.022 for OS and P = 0.001 for DFS). Resection margin of < 5mm affected OS as compared to a margin of ≥5mm (P = 0.03).Conclusions: Nodal positivity is the single most important factor affecting survival in parotid cancers. A histopathological resection margin of at least 5 mm is desirable. Advanced age along with high grade, advanced T and N stages need to be considered for adjuvant treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgery is the mainstay in the management of thyroid cancer. Surgical outcomes need to be tempered against the excellent prognosis of the disease.Aims: This study aims to study the surgical outcomes including the 30-day morbidity and 5-year survival of thyroid cancer patients.Settings and Design: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained surgical database in a tertiary cancer center in India.Materials and Methods: We analyzed 221 surgically treated patients in the year 2012.Statistical Analysis: Used IBM SPSS 24.0 (Armonk, NY) with p < 0.05.Results: The median age was 40 years with predominantly papillary thyroid carcinoma (55%). Localized disease in 47% of cases, locoregional disease in 42.5% and distant metastasis in 10.2% of cases at presentation was noted. Treatment naïve patients were 71% and revision surgeries were done in 29% patients. Extended thyroidectomy constituted 11% of the surgeries. Temporary hypocalcemia was seen in 30.8% of patients, 5% requiring intravenous calcium supplementation. Vocal cord palsy as per nerve at risk and chyle leak were seen in 4.5% and 3.1%, respectively. Aggressive histology, extended thyroidectomy, and inadvertent parathyroidectomy were significant factors associated with complications. Five year estimated overall survival with median follow-up of 50 months was 98%, and event-free survival was 84.8%. Advanced age, distant metastasis at presentation and aggressive histology connoted poor outcomes.Conclusion: Thyroid cancer, irrespective of the extent of disease, has good prognosis. Aggressive histology, the extent of thyroid surgery, distant metastasis and age are important factors, which should be factored in the algorithm of thyroid cancer management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Oral cancers are one of the most common cancers in India. Surgery is the main modality of treatment for oral cancer patients. It is important to understand the postoperative morbidity and mortality as it influences patient outcomes. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine oral cancer patients' characteristics, treatment details, 30-day morbidity and mortality, and survival outcomes. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in a tertiary cancer center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 850 surgically treated oral cancer cases between January and December 2012. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: We performed univariate survival analysis by log-rank test, and all significant (P < 0.05) variables underwent multivariate analysis using Cox regression. RESULTS: The median age was 52 years and the male-to-female ratio was 3.4:1. Nearly one-third of the patients received some form of prior treatment. Buccal mucosa (BM) was the most common subsite (64.94%). BM cancers (81.1%) were more likely to present in advanced stage compared to tongue cancers (52%) (P = 0.000). The incidence of postoperative morbidity and mortality was 36.4% and 0.9%, respectively. Complications were higher in cT3-4 (P = 0.000), cN positive (P = 0.000), and those requiring microvascular reconstruction (P = 0.004). The 5-year overall survival of the entire study group was 70.4%. The survival of early and locally advanced stages was 75.1% and 68.4%, respectively. The factors influencing survival were age (>50 years), advanced cT stage, nodal metastasis, overall stage, and presence of orocutaneous fistula. CONCLUSION: The morbidity, mortality, and long-term outcomes of surgically treated oral cancer patients at our center are comparable to those treated in the developed world. Aggressive management of postoperative complications is crucial for early recovery and timely initiation of adjuvant treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral cancers are one of the most common cancers in India. Surgery is the main modality of treatment for oral cancer patients. It is important to understand the postoperative morbidity and mortality as it influences patient outcomes.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine oral cancer patients' characteristics, treatment details, 30-day morbidity and mortality, and survival outcomes.Settings and Design: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in a tertiary cancer center.Materials and Methods: This study included 850 surgically treated oral cancer cases between January and December 2012.Statistical Analysis: We performed univariate survival analysis by log-rank test, and all significant (P < 0.05) variables underwent multivariate analysis using Cox regression.Results: The median age was 52 years and the male-to-female ratio was 3.4:1. Nearly one-third of the patients received some form of prior treatment. Buccal mucosa (BM) was the most common subsite (64.94%). BM cancers (81.1%) were more likely to present in advanced stage compared to tongue cancers (52%) (P = 0.000). The incidence of postoperative morbidity and mortality was 36.4% and 0.9%, respectively. Complications were higher in cT3-4 (P = 0.000), cN positive (P = 0.000), and those requiring microvascular reconstruction (P = 0.004). The 5-year overall survival of the entire study group was 70.4%. The survival of early and locally advanced stages was 75.1% and 68.4%, respectively. The factors influencing survival were age (>50 years), advanced cT stage, nodal metastasis, overall stage, and presence of orocutaneous fistula.Conclusion: The morbidity, mortality, and long-term outcomes of surgically treated oral cancer patients at our center are comparable to those treated in the developed world. Aggressive management of postoperative complications is crucial for early recovery and timely initiation of adjuvant treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Nodal metastases status among early stage tongue squamous cell cancer patients plays a decisive role in the choice of treatment, wherein about 70% patients can be spared from surgery with an accurate prediction of negative pathological lymph node status. This underscores an unmet need for prognostic biomarkers to stratify the patients who are likely to develop metastases.Materials and Methods: We performed high throughput sequencing of fifty four samples derived from HPV negative early stage tongue cancer patients habitual of chewing betel nuts, areca nuts, lime or tobacco using whole exome (n=47) and transcriptome (n=17) sequencing that were analyzed using in-house computational tools. Additionally, gene expression meta-analyses were carried out for 253 tongue cancer samples. The candidate genes were validated using qPCR and immuno-histochemical analysis in an extended set of 50 early primary tongue cancer samples.Results and Conclusion: Somatic analysis revealed a classical tobacco mutational signature C:G>A:T transversion in 53% patients that were mutated in TP53, NOTCH1, CDKN2A, HRAS, USP6, PIK3CA, CASP8, FAT1, APC, and JAK1. Similarly, significant gains at genomic locus 11q13.3 (CCND1, FGF19, ORAOV1, FADD), 5p15.33 (SHANK2, MMP16, TERT), and 8q24.3 (BOP1); and, losses at 5q22.2 (APC), 6q25.3 (GTF2H2) and 5q13.2 (SMN1) were observed in these samples. Furthermore, an integrated gene-expression analysis of 253 tongue tumors suggested an upregulation of metastases-related pathways and over-expression of MMP10 in 48% tumors that may be crucial to predict nodal metastases in early tongue cancer patients. In overall, we present the first descriptive portrait of somatic alterations underlying the genome of tobacco/nut chewing HPV-negative early tongue cancer, and identify MMP10 asa potential prognostic biomarker to stratify those likely to develop metastases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum Raman spectroscopy (RS) has previously shown potential in oral cancer diagnosis and recurrence prediction. To evaluate the potential of serum RS in oral cancer screening, premalignant and cancer-specific detection was explored in the present study using 328 subjects belonging to healthy controls, premalignant, disease controls, and oral cancer groups. Spectra were acquired using a Raman microprobe. Spectral findings suggest changes in amino acids, lipids, protein, DNA, and β-carotene across the groups. A patient-wise approach was employed for data analysis using principal component linear discriminant analysis. In the first step, the classification among premalignant, disease control (nonoral cancer), oral cancer, and normal samples was evaluated in binary classification models. Thereafter, two screening-friendly classification approaches were explored to further evaluate the clinical utility of serum RS: a single four-group model and normal versus abnormal followed by determining the type of abnormality model. Results demonstrate the feasibility of premalignant and specific cancer detection. The normal versus abnormal model yields better sensitivity and specificity rates of 64 and 80%; these rates are comparable to standard screening approaches. Prospectively, as the current screening procedure of visual inspection is useful mainly for high-risk populations, serum RS may serve as a useful adjunct for early and specific detection of oral precancers and cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which compared the effects of elective neck dissection and therapeutic neck dissection on patients with early-stage oral cancer. Topics include the effectiveness of elective neck dissection in relation to relapse and survival rates, the watchful-waiting approach, and the involvement of the Head and Neck Disease Management Group of the Tata Memorial Centre in India. It also mentions the use of radiography as a treatment method.

Background: Adjuvant re-chemoradiation after salvage surgery improves disease-free survival in recurrent head and neck cancer. However, most patients are ineligible for re-irradiation and are kept on observation. We investigated the efficacy of metronomic adjuvant chemotherapy (MAC) in this group of patients compared to observation.Methods: This was a randomized integrated phase II/III clinical trial. Adults with recurrent head and neck cancer, who had undergone salvage surgery, but were ineligible for adjuvant re-irradiation were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either MAC arm or observation. MAC consisted of weekly oral methotrexate (at a dose of 15 mg per square meter of body surface area) and celecoxib (at a dose of 200 mg orally twice daily) for 6 months. The primary endpoint of phase 2 was disease-free survival (DFS) while that of phase 3 was overall survival (OS). For phase 2, to detect an improvement in the hazard ratio (HR) 0.67 with MAC, with a type 1 error of 10% (1-sided), type 2 error of 30%, 105 patients were required. While for phase 3, with a target HR of 0.77, with a type 1 error of 5%, type 2 error of 20%, 318 patients were required. Here we report the results of phase 2 part of the study.Results: At a median follow up of 30.2 months (95% confidence interval (CI), 25.3 to 35.1) the 1 year and 2-year DFS were 57.4% (95% CI, 42.8-69.5) and 37.6% (95% CI, 24.1-51) in MAC arm whereas the corresponding numbers were 62.3% (95% CI, 47.8 to 73.8) and 54.2%(95% CI, 39.8 to 66.5) in observation arm, respectively (hazard ratio for progression, 1.45; 95% CI, 0.87 to 2.47; P = 0.15). In the MAC arm, the 1 and 2 year OS was 78.7% (95% CI, 64.9 to 87.6) and 48% (95% CI, 34.1 to 62).The corresponding figures in the observation arm were 79.2% (95% CI, 65.7 to 87.9) and 65.5% (95% CI, 50.9 to 76.7) (hazard ratio for death, 1.7, 95% CI, 0.94 to 3.08; P = 0.08).Conclusion: The adjuvant 6-month metronomic schedule was ineffective in improving outcomes in recurrent head and neck cancers post salvage surgery who are ineligible for re-radiation.Trial Registration: Clinical trial registry of India (CTRI)- CTRI/2016/04/006872 [Registered on 26/4/2016]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head and neck cancers are the most common cancers in developing countries, especially in Southeast Asia. Head and neck cancers are more common in males compared to females. This is mainly attributed to tobacco, areca nut, alcohol, etc. Oral cancers are most common amongst all head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC). HNSCC in the developing world differ from those in the Western world in terms of age, site of disease, etiology, and molecular biology. Poverty, illiteracy, advanced stage at presentation, lack of access to health care, and poor treatment infrastructure pose a major challenge in management of these cancers. The annual GDP (gross domestic product) spent on health care is very low in developing countries compared to the developed countries. Cancer treatment leads to a significant financial burden on the cancer patients and their families. Several health programs have been implemented to curb this rising burden of disease. The main aims of these health programs are to increase awareness among people regarding tobacco and to improve access to health care facilities, early diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Management of clinically node-negative (N0) neck in early-stage (T1-T2) oral and/or oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OOSCC) has been controversial. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with elective neck dissection (END) in early-stage OOSCC.Methods: Studies comparing SLNB versus END in early-stage clinically node-negative OOSCC were identified using validated search strategy. To be considered eligible, trials had to include patients with early-stage, clinically node-negative OOSCC who had been randomly assigned to either SLNB or END. Primary outcome of interest was overall survival (OS), while secondary outcomes included isolated neck nodal recurrence (NNR), loco-regional recurrence (LRR), and neck-shoulder function. Outcome data was pooled using random-effects model and reported as hazard ratio (HR) or risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Any p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: A total of 608 patients from three trials comparing SLNB versus END in early-stage clinically node-negative OOSCC were included. The pooled HR of death for SLNB versus END was 1.18 (95% CI: 0.79-1.78, p = 0.41) which was not statistically significant. The rates of isolated NNR (pooled RR = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.69-1.80, p = 0.66) and LRR (pooled RR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.81-1.72, p = 0.39) were also similar. Pooled analysis of the neck-shoulder function significantly favoured SLNB arm (pooled RR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.12-1.32, p < 0.00001).Conclusion: There is low-certainty evidence that SLNB is oncologically non-inferior to END and is associated with potentially lesser functional morbidity making it an emerging alternative standard of care in patients with early-stage clinically node-negative OOSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]