The internet and social media give our patients extraordinary access to information; in these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, where so much of life takes place online, patients and ...professionals alike look to the internet more and more for information and (self-)diagnosis. This article details the treatment journey for a patient with a high-grade chondroblastic osteosarcoma of the right maxilla, paranasal area and zygoma, from misdiagnosis through to resection and full rehabilitation with free flap surgery and implant reconstruction. Uniquely, the article details the patient's treatment, in parallel with her own perception of the treatment, as shared on social media.Key pointsAlerts the reader to the power of social media as a tool to inform and educate the patient and the dental team.Informs the reader of the power of social media as a means for the patient to describe and share their experiences - both positive and negative.Describes contemporary management of an advanced oral malignancy, from the patient's and the surgeon's perspective.
Guidelines remain unclear over whether patients with early stage oral cancer without overt neck disease benefit from upfront elective neck dissection (END), particularly those with the smallest ...tumours.
We conducted a randomised trial of patients with stage T1/T2 N0 disease, who had their mouth tumour resected either with or without END. Data were also collected from a concurrent cohort of patients who had their preferred surgery. Endpoints included overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). We conducted a meta-analysis of all six randomised trials.
Two hundred fifty randomised and 346 observational cohort patients were studied (27 hospitals). Occult neck disease was found in 19.1% (T1) and 34.7% (T2) patients respectively. Five-year intention-to-treat hazard ratios (HR) were: OS HR = 0.71 (p = 0.18), and DFS HR = 0.66 (p = 0.04). Corresponding per-protocol results were: OS HR = 0.59 (p = 0.054), and DFS HR = 0.56 (p = 0.007). END was effective for small tumours. END patients experienced more facial/neck nerve damage; QoL was largely unaffected. The observational cohort supported the randomised findings. The meta-analysis produced HR OS 0.64 and DFS 0.54 (p < 0.001).
SEND and the cumulative evidence show that within a generalisable setting oral cancer patients who have an upfront END have a lower risk of death/recurrence, even with small tumours.
NIHR UK Clinical Research Network database ID number: UKCRN 2069 (registered on 17/02/2006), ISCRTN number: 65018995, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00571883.
Metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) to the cervical lymph nodes has a significant impact on prognosis. Accurate staging of the neck is important in order to deliver appropriate ...treatment for locoregional control of the disease and for prognosis.
The management of the neck in early, low volume disease (clinically T1/T2 oral cavity tumours) has long been debated. The risk of occult nodal involvement in cT1/T2 OSCC is estimated around 20–30%.
We describe the natural evolutionary history of OSCC and its patterns of spread and metastasis to the local lymphatic basins. We discuss most published literature and studies on management of the clinically negative neck (cN0). Particular focus is given to prospective randomized trials comparing the outcomes of upfront elective neck dissection against the observational stance, and we summarize the results of the sentinel node biopsy studies.
The paper discusses the significance of the primary tumour histological characteristics and specifically the tumour's depth of invasion (DOI) and its impact on predicting nodal metastasis. The DOI has been incorporated in the TNM staging highlighting its significance in aiding the treatment decision making and this is reflected in world-wide oncological guidelines.
The critical analysis of all available literature amalgamates the existing evidence in early OSCC and provides recommendations in the management of the clinically N0 neck.
Background
Multimodality treatment for head and neck cancer leads to substantial functional and esthetic impairment mainly manifested as radiation‐induced skin fibrosis (RIF) in combination with ...volumetric defects and reduction in neck mobility. This study assessed the impact of lipotransfer as part of secondary surgical procedure(s) in patients treated for head and neck malignancies.
Methods
Retrospective analysis was performed between 2005 and 2016. All patients with a history of head and neck malignancy, multimodal treatment including at least surgery or radiotherapy, and at least 2‐year disease‐free survival were included. Thirty‐eight patients (22 men, 16 women) matched the inclusion criteria.
Results
Thirty seven (97%) reported esthetic and functional improvements in their RIF and volumetric defect at follow‐up of 32 months. Major improvement in esthetic and functional outcome was reported by 24 (63%) patients and surgeons and minor by 13 patients and surgeons (34%) without causing any complications. Lipotransfer was also found to significantly improve patient's psychological health postoperatively as showed by significant improvements in Derriford Appearance Scale (DAS24), Short Form Health Survey (SF‐36), and University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW‐QOL V4) scores (P < .001).
Conclusions
Lipotransfer is effective for volume restoration and treating scar and RIF from head and neck defects.
Human papillomavirus positive (HPV+) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an emerging disease, representing a distinct clinical and epidemiological entity. Understanding the genetic basis ...of this specific subtype of cancer could allow therapeutic targeting of affected pathways for a stratified medicine approach.
Twenty HPV+ and 20 HPV- laser-capture microdissected oropharyngeal carcinomas were used for paired-end sequencing of hybrid-captured DNA, targeting 3,230 exons in 182 genes often mutated in cancer. Copy number alteration (CNA) profiling, Sequenom MassArray sequencing and immunohistochemistry were used to further validate findings.
HPV+ and HPV- oropharyngeal carcinomas cluster into two distinct subgroups. TP53 mutations are detected in 100% of HPV negative cases and abrogation of the G1/S checkpoint by CDKN2A/B deletion and/or CCND1 amplification occurs in the majority of HPV- tumors.
These findings strongly support a causal role for HPV, acting via p53 and RB pathway inhibition, in the pathogenesis of a subset of oropharyngeal cancers and suggest that studies of CDK inhibitors in HPV- disease may be warranted. Mutation and copy number alteration of PI3 kinase (PI3K) pathway components appears particularly prevalent in HPV+ tumors and assessment of these alterations may aid in the interpretation of current clinical trials of PI3K, AKT, and mTOR inhibitors in HNSCC.
Highlights • Sarcomas of the head and neck require multimodal treatment. • Head and neck osteosarcomas demonstrate different pattern of spread comparing to epithelial cancers. • Head and neck ...sarcomas require wide ‘compartmental’ excision to achieve control. • Head and neck soft tissue sarcomas extending to the skull base are difficult to control.
The incidence of oral squamous cell carcinoma remains high. Oral and oro-pharyngeal carcinomas are the sixth most common cancer in the world. Several clinicopathological parameters have been ...implicated in prognosis, recurrence and survival, following oral squamous cell carcinoma. In this retrospective analysis, clinicopathological parameters of 115 T1/T2 OSCC were studied and compared to recurrence and death from tumour-related causes. The study protocol was approved by the Joint UCL/UCLH committees of the ethics for human research. The patients' data was entered onto proformas, which were validated and checked by interval sampling. The fields included a range of clinical, operative and histopathological variables related to the status of the surgical margins. Data collection also included recurrence, cause of death, date of death and last clinic review. Causes of death were collated in 4 categories (1) death from locoregional spread, (2) death from distant metastasis, (3) death from bronchopulmonary pneumonia, and (4) death from any non-tumour event that lead to cardiorespiratory failure. The patients' population comprised 65 males and 50 females. Their mean age at the 1st diagnosis of OSCC was 61.7 years. Two-thirds of the patients were Caucasians. Primary sites were mainly identified in the tongue, floor of mouth (FOM), buccal mucosa and alveolus. Most of the identified OSCCs were low-risk (T1N0 and T2N0). All patients underwent primary resection +/- neck dissection and reconstruction when necessary. Twenty-two patients needed adjuvant radiotherapy. Pathological analysis revealed that half of the patients had moderately differentiated OSCC. pTNM slightly differed from the cTNM and showed that 70.4% of the patients had low-risk OSCC. Tumour clearance was ultimately achieved in 107 patients. Follow-up resulted in a 3-year survival of 74.8% and a 5-year survival of 72.2%. Recurrence was identified in 23 males and 20 females. The mean age of 1st diagnosis of the recurrence group was 59.53 years. Most common oral sites included the lateral border of tongue and floor of mouth. Recurrence was associated with clinical N-stage disease. The surgical margins in this group was evaluated and found that 17 had non-cohesive invasion, 30 had dysplasia at margin, 21 had vascular invasion, 9 had nerve invasion and 3 had bony invasion. Severe dysplasia was present in 37 patients. Tumour clearance was achieved in only 8 patients. The mean depth of tumour invasion in the recurrence group was 7.6 mm.An interesting finding was that 5/11 patients who died of distant metastasis had their primary disease in the tongue. Nodal disease comparison showed that 8/10 patients who died of locoregional metastasis and 8/11 patients who died from distant metastasis had clinical nodal involvement. Comparing this to pathological nodal disease (pTNM) showed that 10/10 patients and 10/11 patients who died from locoregional and distant metastasis, respectively, had nodal disease. All patients who died from locoregional and distant metastasis were shown to have recurrence after the primary tumour resection. Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity has a poor overall prognosis with a high tendency to recur at the primary site and extend to involve the cervical lymph nodes. Several clinicopathological parameters can be employed to assess outcome, recurrence and overall survival.
A MEDLINE search early in 2015 revealed more than 250,000 papers on head and neck cancer; over 100,000 on oral cancer; and over 60,000 on mouth cancer. Not all publications contain robust evidence. ...We endeavour to encapsulate the most important of the latest information and advances now employed in practice, in a form comprehensible to healthcare workers, patients and their carers. This series offers the primary care dental team, in particular, an overview of the aetiopathogenesis, prevention, diagnosis and multidisciplinary care of mouth cancer, the functional and psychosocial implications, and minimization of the impact on the quality of life of patient and family. Clinical Relevance: This article offers the dental team an overview of the changing epidemiology of, and increases in mouth cancer.
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