Canine intra-nasal squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemotherapy prior to surgical resection

A 12-year-old male castrated Samoyed dog was presented with left-sided epistaxis and sneezing. Diagnostic procedures included haematology and biochemistry testing, thoracic radiography, fine needle aspiration of regional lymph nodes, CT, rhinoscopy, incisional biopsy and histopathology. Squamous cell carcinoma of the rostral nasal cavity was diagnosed, with no evidence of metastatic disease. External beam radiation was not an accessible treatment option. Complete surgical resection of the tumour would have required a larger, more disfiguring resection of nasal planum and maxilla than the owner was prepared to accept and may have been associated with an unacceptable morbidity. As an alternative, the extent of disease was reduced using a combination of carboplatin, doxorubicin and piroxicam chemotherapy. This allowed a less extensive nasal planum removal to be performed to remove residual disease with clean margins. The patient achieved a 14 month disease free interval from the time of surgery to the time of local recurrence. Survival time from diagnosis to eventual euthanasia for progressive local disease was 18 months.

E2F suppression and Sp1 overexpression are sufficient to induce the differentiation-specific marker, transglutaminase type 1, in a squamous cell carcinoma cell line

Recently, E2F function has expanded to include the regulation of differentiation in human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKs). We extend these findings to report that in HEKs, Sp1 is a differentiation-specific activator and a downstream target of E2F-mediated suppression of the differentiation-specific marker, transglutaminase type 1 (TG-1). Deletion of elements between -0.084 to -0.034 kb of the TG-1 promoter disabled E2F1-induced suppression of promoter activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) demonstrated that Sp1 and Sp3 bound this region. Protein expression analysis suggested that squamous differentiation was accompanied by increased Sp1/Sp3 ratio. Cotransfection of proliferating HEKs or the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell line, KJD-1/SV40, with an E2F inhibitor (E2Fd/n) and Sp1 expression plasmid was sufficient to activate the TG-1 promoter. The suppression of Sp1 activity by E2F in differentiated cells appeared to be indirect since we found no evidence of an Sp1/E2F coassociation on the TG-1 promoter fragment. Moreover, E2F inhibition in the presence of a differentiation stimulus induced Sp1 protein. These data demonstrate that (i) Sp1 can act as a differentiation stimulus, (ii) E2F-mediated suppression of differentiation-specific markers is indirect via Sp1 inhibition and (iii) a combination of E2F inhibition and Sp1 activation could form the basis of a differentiation therapy for SCCs.

Total pharyngolaryngectomy for squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx: A review

Objectives. To evaluate our experience with total pharyngolaryngectomy in the treatment of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Study Design: Retrospective analysis of consecutively treated patients in an academic otolaryngology, head and neck department. Methods. One hundred eighty patients who had total pharyngolaryngectomy performed for hypopharyngeal carcinoma were included in this study. Patients with a history of previous head and neck cancer were excluded. Clinicopathologic parameters were recorded and survival calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results. One hundred sixty-two (90%) of the patients were male, and the patients had a mean age of 62 years. The majority (91%) of patients had advanced overall clinical stage disease (stage 3,4). Thirty-one (17.8%) and 43 (24%) patients developed locoregional and metastatic disease recurrence, respectively. The 2- and 5-year disease-specific survival rates were 72% and 52%, respectively. Advanced nodal stage, perineural invasion, lymphovascular invasion, and positive margins were predictors of poor survival on univariate analysis, and lymphovascular invasion was an independent prognostic factor on multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Surgery and postoperative radiotherapy remains the treatment against which other modalities should be compared for advanced stage hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Food intake and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in a community: The Nambour skin cancer cohort study

There is some evidence that dietary factors may modify the risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin, but the association between food intake and SCC has not been evaluated prospectively. We examined the association between food intake and SCC incidence among 1,056 randomly selected adults living in an Australian sub-tropical community. Measurement-error corrected estimates of intake in 15 food groups were defined from a validated food frequency questionnaire in 1992. Associations with SCC risk were assessed using Poisson and negative binomial regression to the persons affected and tumour counts, respectively, based on incident, histologically confirmed tumours occurring between 1992 and 2002. After multivariable adjustment, none of the food groups was significantly associated with SCC risk. Stratified analysis in participants with a past history of skin cancer showed a decreased risk of SCC tumours for high intakes of green leafy vegetables (RR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.22-0.91; p for trend = 0.02) and an increased risk for high intake of unmodified dairy products (RR = 2.53, 95% CI: 1.15-5.54; p for trend = 0.03). Food intake was not associated with SCC risk in persons who had no past history of skin cancer. These findings suggest that consumption of green leafy vegetables may help prevent development of subsequent SCCs of the skin among people with previous skin cancer and that consumption of unmodified dairy products, such as whole milk, cheese and yoghurt, may increase SCC risk in susceptible persons.

Prolonged prevention of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin by regular sunscreen use

Half of all cancers in the United States are skin cancers. We have previously shown in a 4.5-year randomized controlled trial in an Australian community that squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) but not basal cell carcinomas (BCC) can be prevented by regular sunscreen application to the head, neck, hands, and forearms. Since cessation of the trial, we have followed participants for a further 8 years to evaluate possible latency of preventive effect on BCCs and SCCs. After prolonged follow-up, BCC tumor rates tended to decrease but not significantly in people formerly randomized to daily sunscreen use compared with those not applying sunscreen daily. By contrast, corresponding SCC tumor rates were significantly decreased by almost 40% during the entire follow-up period (rate ratio, 0.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.99). Regular application of sunscreen has prolonged preventive effects on SCC but with no clear benefit in reducing BCC.

Loss of p38δ mitogen-activated protein kinase expression promotes oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma proliferation, migration and anchorage-independent growth.

Oesophageal cancer is an aggressive tumour which responds poorly to both chemotherapy and radiation therapy and has a poor prognosis. Thus, a greater understanding of the biology of oesophageal cancer is needed in order to identify novel therapeutic targets. Among these targets p38 MAPK isoforms are becoming increasingly important for a variety of cellular functions. The physiological functions of p38α and -β are now well documented in contrast to -γ and -δ which are comparatively under-studied and ill-defined. A major obstacle to deciphering the role(s) of the latter two p38 isoforms is the lack of specific chemical activators and inhibitors. In this study, we analysed p38 MAPK isoform expression in oesophageal cancer cell lines as well as human normal and tumour tissue. We observed specifically differential p38δ expression. The role(s) of p38δ and active (phosphorylated) p38δ (p-p38δ) in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OESCC) was delineated using wild-type p38δ as well as active p-p38δ, generated by fusing p38δ to its upstream activator MKK6b(E) via a decapeptide (Gly-Glu)5 linker. OESCC cell lines which are p38δ-negative (KE-3 and -8) grew more quickly than cell lines (KE-6 and -10) which express endogenous p38δ. Re-introduction of p38δ resulted in a time-dependent decrease in OESCC cell proliferation which was exacerbated with p-p38δ. In addition, we observed that p38δ and p-p38δ negatively regulated OESCC cell migration in vitro. Finally both p38δ and p-p38δ altered OESCC anchorage-independent growth. Our results suggest that p38δ and p-p38δ have a role in the suppression of OESCC. Our research may provide a new potential target for the treatment of oesophageal cancer.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis with stones and inferior vena cava infiltration. Case report

We report a rare case of a 50 year old man with renal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) who first came to our attention with renal colic and fever not responding to antibiotic or analgesic treatment. He had a long history of kidney stones, but had not undergone any imaging in the last 5 years. Physical examination revealed tenderness and a palpable mass in the right flank and lumbar region. A whole body CT scan was performed, revealing an 11 cm mass in the right kidney infiltrating the inferior vena cava. There were areas of calcification within the mass and multiple stones within the renal pelvis. The tumor was considered unsuitable for resection according to radiological and clinical criteria. The mass was biopsied percutaneously under CT guidance and histological examination revealed squamous cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis. The patient was treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and embolization of the renal artery. He died one month after diagnosis. To our knowledge this is the second reported case in the world of renal SCC infiltrating the inferior vena cava and with kidney stones.