Neoadjuvant toripalimab combined with chemotherapy in locally advanced HNSCC.

Introduction: To determine the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant toripalimab combined with chemotherapy in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC).

Patients And Methods: This single-arm investigator-initiated trial was conducted at a tertiary cancer hospital in China. The untreated LA-HNSCC patients received two cycles of neoadjuvant paclitaxel and cisplatin (TP) + toripalimab regimen (paclitaxel 175 mg/m d1, cisplatin 75 mg/m d1, and toripalimab 240 mg d1, every 3 weeks).

Pembrolizumab with Chemotherapy for Patients with Recurrent or Metastatic Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinus Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Prospective Phase ll Study.

Purpose: Patients with recurrent or metastatic sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (R/M SNSCC) lack standardized systemic treatment and prospective studies. We evaluated the antitumor response and safety of pembrolizumab with nab-paclitaxel and platinum in R/M SNSCC.

Patients And Methods: Patients with R/M SNSCC received pembrolizumab 200 mg and nab-paclitaxel 260 mg/m2 plus cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin at an AUC 5 on day 1 every 21 days for up to six cycles, followed by pembrolizumab maintenance until progression or unacceptable toxicity or 35 cycles.

To cleave or not and how? The DNA exonucleases and endonucleases in immunity.

DNA exonucleases and endonucleases are key executors of the genome during many physiological processes. They generate double-stranded DNA by cleaving damaged endogenous or exogenous DNA, triggering the activation of the innate immune pathways such as cGAS-STING-IFN, and enabling the body to produce anti-viral or anti-tumor immune responses. This is of great significance for maintaining the stability of the genome and improving the therapeutic efficacy of tumors.

The characterization of tumor immune microenvironment after neoadjuvant immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell cancer using multiplex immunohistochemistry.

Objective: Optimizing clinical decision-making in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is challenging due to the ambiguous understanding of the immune cell dynamics and immune checkpoints regulation in the disease after the administration of neoadjuvant immunotherapy (NIT).

Methods: HNSCC biopsy samples collected before and after the neoadjuvant treatment are classified into the pathologic response (PR) and the non-pathologic response (NPR) groups according to treatment responses and the expression of immune cells and checkpoints was labeled using multiplex immunohistochemistry (m-IHC).

Results: The populations of CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, regulatory T cells (Treg), PD-1, and PD-L1 were particularly higher in the PR group than the NPR group in pre-treatment tissues, with the p-values of log-transformed positive cell density <0.

Biomechanical research using advanced micro-nano devices: In-Vitro cell Characterization focus.

Background: Cells in the body reside in a dynamic microenvironment subjected to various physical stimuli, where mechanical stimulation plays a crucial role in regulating cellular physiological behaviors and functions.

Aim Of Review: Investigating the mechanisms and interactions of mechanical transmission is essential for understanding the physiological and functional interplay between cells and physical stimuli. Therefore, establishing an in vitro biomechanical stimulation cell culture system holds significant importance for research related to cellular biomechanics.

CTR-FAPI PET Enables Precision Management of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) can only be cured through the excision of all metastatic lesions, but current clinical practice fails to localize the disease in 29% to 60% of patients. Previously, we developed a fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI)-based covalent targeted radioligand (CTR) for improved detection sensitivity and accuracy. In this first-in-class clinical trial, we head-to-head compared [68Ga]Ga-CTR-FAPI PET-CT and [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) PET-CT in 50 patients with MTC.

Comparison of thyroid surgery techniques: a retrospective cohort study and meta-analysis of traditional electric knife straight bipolar electrocoagulation forceps.

Background: In recent years, advancements in surgical techniques for thyroidectomy have led to varying outcomes and efficiencies. Understanding these differences is crucial to optimize patient care and surgical success. This study compared intra- and postoperative parameters of thyroid surgery for thyroidectomy or thyroid cancer.

The machine learning-based model for lateral lymph node metastasis of thyroid medullary carcinoma improved the prediction ability of occult metastasis.

Background: For medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) with no positive findings in the lateral neck before surgery, whether prophylactic lateral neck dissection (LND) is needed remains controversial. A better way to predict occult metastasis in the lateral neck is needed.

Methods: From January 2010 to January 2022, patients who were diagnosed with MTC and underwent primary surgery at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Comprehensive analysis of single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing data identifies B cell marker genes signature that predicts prognosis and analysis of immune checkpoints expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Recent studies have shown that B cells and the associated tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) correlate with the response of patients to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and predict overall survival (OS) in cancer patients. We screened 145 B cell marker genes (BCMG) by a comprehensive analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The BCMG signature (BCMGS) was established using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset of HNSC and verified in four independent datasets.

Application of single-cell RNA sequencing in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Single-cell RNA sequencing has been broadly applied to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) for characterizing the heterogeneity and genomic mutations of HNSCC benefiting from the advantage of single-cell resolution. We summarized most of the current studies and aimed to explore their research methods and ideas, as well as how to transform them into clinical applications. Through single-cell RNA sequencing, we found the differences in tumor cells' expression programs and differentiation tracks.

Identification of a seven-lncRNAs panel that serves as a prognosis predictor and contributes to the malignant progression of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is one of the most frequent head and neck cancers worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in tumorigenesis. However, the clinical significance of lncRNAs in LSCC remains largely unknown.

BEST1 Positive Monocytes in Circulation: Visualize Intratumoral Crosstalk between Cancer Cells and Monocytes.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are characterized by an abundance of monocytes and macrophages recruited from the peripheral blood. However, it has not been determined whether these infiltrated cells can be released back into circulation with a tumor-associated neobiosignature. This study reports that Bestrophin1 (BEST1), a component protein of Ca -activated Cl channels (CaCCs), is highly expressed on classical monocytes in the peripheral blood of HNSCC patients.

Integrating DOI in T classification improves the predictive performance of laryngeal cancer staging.

It has been recognized that depth of invasion (DOI) is closely associated with patient survival for most types of cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine the DOI optimal cutoff value and its prognostic value in laryngeal squamous carcinoma (LSCC). Most importantly, we evaluated the prognostic performance of five candidate modified T-classification models in patients with LSCC.

Twist-Net: A multi-modality transfer learning network with the hybrid bilateral encoder for hypopharyngeal cancer segmentation.

Hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) is a rare disease. Therefore, it is a challenge to automatically segment HPC tumors and metastatic lymph nodes (HPC risk areas) from medical images with the small-scale dataset. Combining low-level details and high-level semantics from feature maps in different scales can improve the accuracy of segmentation.

Survival and long-term quality-of-life of concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus surgery followed by radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy for the treatment of resectable stage III/IV hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objective: We evaluated the utility of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) compared to surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (with or without concurrent chemotherapy) (SRT) in terms of improving the life expectancy and quality-of-life (QOL) of patients with stage III/IV hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (HPSCCs).

Methods: From January 2010 to July 2018, a total of 299 patients with stage III/IV HPSCC who received surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (with or without concurrent chemotherapy) (SRT, n = 111), or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT, n = 188) in our hospital were included. We measured overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

Evaluation of serum B7-H3 expression, ultrasound and clinical characteristics to predict the risk of cervical lymph node metastases in papillary thyroid carcinoma by nomogram.

Background: Improving the preoperative diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis (LNM) will help improve the clinical outcomes of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. B7-H3, as an immune checkpoint of the B7 family, is highly expressed in PTC tissues and related to LNM and prognosis. We aimed to explore the clinical values of serum B7-H3 (sB7-H3) in predicting LNM in PTC by a nomogram prediction model.

A modified tracheal transection approach for cervical esophageal lesion treatment: A report of 13 cases.

Background: Surgical interventions for tumors in the cervical esophageal region are complicated and laryngeal function is frequently sacrificed. Therefore, we attempted the tracheal transection approach to resect the tumor while preserving laryngeal function.

Methods: Three patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), six with cervical esophageal cancer (CEC), and four with CEC mixed with thoracic esophageal cancer (TEC) were enrolled.

CCS-Net: Cascade Detection Network With the Convolution Kernel Switch Block and Statistics Optimal Anchors Block in Hypopharyngeal Cancer MRI.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a common diagnostic method for hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC). It is a challenge to automatically detect HPC tumors and swollen lymph nodes (HPC risk areas) from MRI slices because of the small size and irregular shape of HPC risk areas. Herein, we propose a cascade detection network with Convolution Kernel Switch (CKS) Block and Statistics Optimal Anchors (SOA) Block in HPC MRI (CCS-Net).

A nomogram to predict lateral lymph node metastases in lateral neck in patients with medullary thyroid cancer.

Background: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) can only be cured by surgery, but the management of lateral lymph nodes is controversial, especially for patients with cN0+cN1a. To address this challenge, we developed a multivariate logistic regression model to predict lateral lymph node metastases (LNM).

Methods: We retrospectively collected clinical data from 124 consecutive MTC patients who underwent initial surgery at our institution.

Complications and oncological outcomes after salvage surgery for recurrent and residual hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Salvage surgery for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC) after radiotherapy may result in several postoperative complications and the oncological outcome is unsatisfying. Therefore, identifying the risk factors for postoperative complications and oncological outcome after salvage surgery is important. This study aimed to determine which HPSCC patients might benefit from salvage surgery following previous radiotherapy.

Application of the Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) is a standard, evidence-based classification system for salivary gland fine-needle aspiration (SG-FNA). Since it was published in 2018, many researchers across the world have applied this uniform reporting system to their cohorts.

Methods: The authors comprehensively reviewed cohort studies conducted since publication of the MSRSGC and performed a meta-analysis.