Head and neck neoplasms

Despite advances in treatment, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) survival rates remain stagnant. Current treatment is associated with significant toxicities and includes chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and few targeted treatments. Targeted treatments, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted agent, cetuximab, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, pembrolizumab and nivolumab, show improved toxicity profiles and modestly improved survival in select patients. An urgent need remains to identify novel targeted treatments for single-agent or combined therapy use...

Morphofunctional reconstruction is a pivotal aspect in the surgery of head and neck neoplasms: nowadays, microvascular free flap surgery represents the gold standard. In choosing the surgical technique, the effects on residual quality of life, especially in elderly people, usually considered more fragile and so often excluded from microsurgical procedures, must be taken into account. This multicentre study evaluated the quality of life index in patients more than 75 years of age and who underwent to head and neck microsurgical reconstruction...

RATIONALE: Intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasm (ITPN) is a rare type of pancreatic epithelial neoplasm. We report 2 cases of ITPN and detail the imaging findings. PATIENT CONCERNS: The 1st case was a 36-year-old woman who complained of jaundice, yellow urine and diarrhea. She accepted ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination before surgery, which all revealed a mass in the pancreatic head. The 2nd case was a 62-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital for the treatment of a pancreatic tumor...

Laryngeal cancer, which is mainly consisted of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC), is one of the common neoplasms in head and neck. In spite the advantages in diagnose and treatment, the mortality of LSCC is still high in the past 20 years. Epigenetic regulations play a important role in LSCC. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the epigenetic regulations in LSCC, such as the methylation of chromatin, the pre- and post-regulation of transcription by microRNAs and/or long noncoding RNAs. The gene methylation can represses the expression of genes, and some histone and DNA methylation are associated with LSCC...

INTRODUCTION: Mammary analog secretory carcinoma (MASC) is a new diagnosis of head and neck tumors first reported in 2010. It was often misdiagnosed as salivary acinic cell carcinoma (AciCC). We present a patient with an asymptomatic parotid tumor that underwent deep lobe parotidectomy and postoperative radiation therapy. The final pathology showed MASC. CASE PRESENTATION: A 57-year-old male presented with an asymptomatic enlarging right parotid mass. A CT neck with IV contrast showed a 1...

BACKGROUND: Collision carcinoma is rare in clinical practice, especially in the head and neck region. In this paper, we report a case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) colliding in the larynx and review 12 cases of collision carcinoma in the head and neck to further understand collision carcinoma, including its definition, diagnosis, and treatment. CASE SUMMARY: A 61-year-old man presented with a 1-year history of hoarseness. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the larynx revealed that the right vocal cord had a nodule-like thickening with obvious enhancement...

Black and brown-colored mucocutaneous lesions present a differential diagnostic challenge, with malignant melanoma being the primary clinical concern. The vast majority of pigmented lesions in the head and neck region are the result of benign, reactive factors such as post-inflammatory melanosis. However, it is not uncommon to discover a range of muco-cutaneous black and brown neoplasms in the oro-facial area. The majority of black/brown pigmented neoplasms are melanocytic in origin; these are neoplasms of neural crest derivation...

Some human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes are universally recognized as major etiological agents not only of ano-genital tumors but also of head and neck cancers, which show increasing incidence. The evaluation of current and future therapeutic approaches against HPV-induced tumors is a global health priority, despite an effective prophylactic vaccine against 7 of the 12 genotypes involved in the etiology of tumors being currently available. In this review, we present the main anti-HPV therapeutic approaches in clinical experimentation, with a focus on a novel tumor antigen delivery method using engineered exosomes, that we recently developed...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate trends in the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases in the era before the introduction of organised HPV vaccination programmes in the Republic of Korea. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used National Health Insurance Service data from 2002 to 2015 and included participants who were diagnosed with the following HPV-related diseases (codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision): genital warts (A63...

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive cancer. Early detection and management of HNSCC may prevent progression of the disease. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may serve as prognostic biomarkers for various cancer types. The current study downloaded an RNA-Seq dataset containing 43 tumor-normal pairs. An independent t-test identified that the expression level of lncRNA LOC541471 was significantly increased in tumor tissues compared with healthy tissues. Additionally, the current study demonstrated that high lncRNA LOC541471 expression was significantly associated with increasing lymph node metastasis classification and perineural invasion...

INTRODUCTION: Malignant neoplasms of the head and neck, due to its anatomical location, can cause significant alterations in vital functions related to feeding, communication and social interaction of the affected patients. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the quality of life of patients with advanced malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity and submitted to radical operations with curative intent. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 47 patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), in stages III and IV, underwent surgical treatment with segmental mandibulectomy and complementary radiotherapy...

Chondroid syringoma (CS) (mixed tumor of the skin) is a rare neoplasm of the sweat glands, which presents itself as a slow-growing, painless, nonulcerated, subcutaneous or intracutaneous mass often occurring in the head and neck region. The clinician may miss the diagnosis of this lesion due to its rarity. CS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any subcutaneous nodules, especially in the head and neck region. The diagnosis of CS is mainly based on the histopathologic examination. This article presents a 35-year-old male with a mass on the upper lip that was histopathologically diagnosed as an apocrine variant of benign CS with squamous metaplasia after surgical excision...

Lipoma is the most common soft tissue mesenchymal neoplasm. Its occurrence is low in the oral cavity (1 to 4%) and in head and neck region (20 to 25 %). Usually asymptomatic and slowly growing, lipoma can compress neighboring cervico-facial structures causing dysphagia, dyspnea, or obstructive sleep apnea. We describe an unusual case of giant cervico-parapharyngeal lipoma causing an obstructive sleep apnea in a 69-year-old man and with the complete remove of OSA after surgical procedure.

Treating patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is a significant problem. There is an increase in the incidence of malignant neoplasms in this region. Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are often not sufficient methods of treatment. Thorough analysis of processes occurring in the tumor microenvironment has allowed to distinguish three stages that make up the reaction of the human body to hostile antigens, which are tumor antigens. Understanding these mechanisms has resulted in the introduction of a new term immunooncology...

The salivary gland tumors comprise of 3% of head and neck tumors. Pleomorphic adenoma, also known as mixed tumor, is the most common benign neoplasm of the major and minor salivary glands. The occurrence of pleomorphic adenoma of the tongue is very rare, and very few cases have been reported in the literature. A 41-year-old male presented with swelling on tongue. Cytological and histological examination revealed pleomorphic adenoma. Complete excision of the mass was done transorally under general anaesthesia...

BACKGROUND: Paragangliomas are neuroendocrine neoplasms that arise from the extra-adrenal paraganglia of the autonomic nervous system. Approximately 3% of all paragangliomas occur in the head and neck region. Most reported cases are benign and unilateral. We present here a rare case of bilateral malignant paragangliomas. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 28-year-old woman presented to our department with a 10-year history of bilateral neck swelling. Physical examination showed bilateral neck masses with obvious pulsation...

Background: Orofacial pain (OFP) is an undesirable sensation frequently associated with head and neck cancer (HNC) and its treatment. OFP negatively impacts the quality of life of oncological patients. The approach to OFP diagnosis and management can differ if the patient visits a dentist or physician. The aim of this study was to present a case series of HNC with OFP managed by a dentist team and to discuss its role in the management of OFP. Material and Methods: We recruited twenty-two adult patients with OFP and previous diagnosis of HNC referred to an academic dental clinic from 2015 to 2017...

OBJECTIVE: Vascular invasion is no longer considered to be an absolute contraindication to tumor removal, and complex reconstructions are part of the daily activity of vascular surgeons in specialized cancer centers. Our aim was to report a single-center experience of complex vascular reconstructions involving en bloc resection of tumors and patients' long-term survival and graft patency outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest report of vascular reconstructions published to date, with the longest follow-up...

OBJECTIVE: Head and neck cancer can involve the surrounding vasculature and require technically challenging vascular interventions. These interventions can be complicated by tumor invasion, history of prior surgery, and history of radiation therapy. Our aim was to examine patients with vascular interventions in association with head and neck cancer to determine outcomes and best practice. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of cancer patients treated by head and neck surgery and vascular surgery between 2007 and 2014...

Congenital Infantile Fibrosarcoma is a rare neoplasm that typically presents during the first year of life, but uncommonly in the head and neck. We report a six-day old male presenting with an expanding mass of the right glabella associated with visual field obstruction. The patient underwent a two-staged procedure for surgical removal of the tumor due to the initially unclear pathologic diagnosis of the tumor, combined with the desire to close the defect while incurring minimal aesthetic or functional deformity...