Audiological findings in patients treated with radio- and concomitant chemotherapy for head and neck tumors

Abstract Objective To evaluate the functionality of the auditory system in patients who underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment with cisplatin to treat head and neck tumors. Study Design Case series with planned data collection. Setting From May 2007 to May 2008 by the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and the Department of Oncology/Radiotherapy at Faculdade de Medicina de Marília. Subjects and Methods Audiological evaluation (Pure Tone Audiometry (air and bone conduction), Speech Audiometry, Tympanometry, Acoustic Reflex testing and Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions) was performed in 17 patients diagnosed with head and neck neoplasia and treated with chemotherapy, using cisplatin, and radiotherapy. Results 12 left ears (70.5%) and 11 right ears (64.7%) presented bilateral decreased hearing soon after the treatment for the frequency 1 kHz (mild auditory damage) and for the frequency 8 kHz (more significant auditory damage). Conclusion Patients with head and neck cancer submitted to the conventional radiotherapy treatment, combined with the chemotherapy with cisplatin, presented a high incidence of decreased hearing by the end of treatment. Strong evidence was observed linking auditory alteration to the amount of radiotherapy treatment.

Head & neck optical diagnostics: vision of the future of surgery

Review paper and Proceedings of the Inaugural Meeting of the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics Society (HNODS) on March 14th 2009 at University College London.

Assessing joint effusion and bone changes of the head of the mandible in MR images of symptomatic patients

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between degenerative bone changes of the head of the mandible and the presence of joint effusion (JE). This study was based on sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports of 148 temporomandibular joints (TMJs) of 74 patients complaining of pain and/or dysfunction in the TMJ area. The mandible heads were surveyed for osteoarthritis characteristics, which were classified as osteophytosis, sclerosis or erosion. The presence of JE was checked whenever high signal intensity was observed in the articular space. The results evidenced the presence of bone changes in 30% of the sample. Osteophytes and erosions were the changes most commonly observed. JE was reported in 10% of TMJs. The results from the statistical tests revealed that bone changes in the head of the mandible are associated with the presence of JE.

Interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 production by mononuclear cells from patients with advanced head and neck cancer

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the production of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 by stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from patients with supraglottic laryngeal cancer before and after surgical treatment. METHODS: Fourteen patients with advanced supraglottic laryngeal cancer were studied. Cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated during the preoperative and late postoperative periods were stimulated with concanavalin A and Bacille Calmette-Guerin, and the supernatant concentrations of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 were measured. RESULTS: For non-stimulated cultures, the interferon-gamma levels produced by the preoperative period and the late postoperative period cultures were lower than the levels produced by the control group cultures. The interferon-gamma levels after stimulation with concanavalin A were higher in the late postoperative period cultures than in the preoperative evaluation cultures. Stimulation with Bacille Calmette-Guerin led to the production of similar levels of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 by all cultures; thus, stimulation increased the levels of interferon-gamma produced by both the preoperative and postoperative cultures relative to the levels produced by the corresponding unstimulated cultures. CONCLUSION: Patients with advanced supraglottic laryngeal cancer exhibit an in vitro deficiency in interferongamma secretion by mononuclear cells. Stimulated cells seem to recover this function during the postoperative period.

MicroRNA expression profile in head and neck cancer: HOX-cluster embedded microRNA-196a and microRNA-10b dysregulation implicated in cell proliferation

Abstract Background Current evidence implicates aberrant microRNA expression patterns in human malignancies; measurement of microRNA expression may have diagnostic and prognostic applications. Roles for microRNAs in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are largely unknown. HNSCC, a smoking-related cancer, is one of the most common malignancies worldwide but reliable diagnostic and prognostic markers have not been discovered so far. Some studies have evaluated the potential use of microRNA as biomarkers with clinical application in HNSCC. Methods MicroRNA expression profile of oral squamous cell carcinoma samples was determined by means of DNA microarrays. We also performed gain-of-function assays for two differentially expressed microRNA using two squamous cell carcinoma cell lines and normal oral keratinocytes. The effect of the over-expression of these molecules was evaluated by means of global gene expression profiling and cell proliferation assessment. Results Altered microRNA expression was detected for a total of 72 microRNAs. Among these we found well studied molecules, such as the miR-17-92 cluster, comprising potent oncogenic microRNA, and miR-34, recently found to interact with p53. HOX-cluster embedded miR-196a/b and miR-10b were up- and down-regulated, respectively, in tumor samples. Since validated HOX gene targets for these microRNAs are not consistently deregulated in HNSCC, we performed gain-of-function experiments, in an attempt to outline their possible role. Our results suggest that both molecules interfere in cell proliferation through distinct processes, possibly targeting a small set of genes involved in cell cycle progression. Conclusions Functional data on miRNAs in HNSCC is still scarce. Our data corroborate current literature and brings new insights into the role of microRNAs in HNSCC. We also show that miR-196a and miR-10b, not previously associated with HNSCC, may play an oncogenic role in this disease through the deregulation of cell proliferation. The study of microRNA alterations in HNSCC is an essential step to the mechanistic understanding of tumor formation and could lead to the discovery of clinically relevant biomarkers.

Investigation of the interaction of alkali ions with surfactant head groups for the formation of lyotropic biaxial nematic phase via optical birefringence measurements.

Lyotropic liquid crystals exhibiting nematic phases were obtained from the mixtures potassium laurate/alkali sulfate salts (M2SO4)/1-undecanol (UndeOH)/water and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/M2SO4/1-dodecanol (DDeOH)/water, where M2SO4 represents the alkali sulfate salts being Li2SO4, Na2SO4, K2SO4, Rb2SO4 or Cs2SO4. The birefringences measurements were performed via laser conoscopy. Our results indicated that cosmotropic and chaotropic behaviors of both ions and head groups are very important to obtain lyotropic biaxial nematic phase. To obtain the biaxial nematic phase, surfactant head group and ion present in lyotropic mixture have relatively opposite behavior, e.g. one more cosmotropic (more chaotropic) other less cosmotropic (less chaotropic) or vice versa.

Muscular development and physical activity as major determinants of femoral bone mass acquisition during growth

[EN] OBJECTIVES: To investigate to what extent bone mass accrual is determined by physical activity and changes in lean, fat, and total body mass during growth. METHODS: Twenty six physically active and 16 age matched control boys were followed up for three years. All subjects were prepubertal at the start of the survey (mean (SEM) age 9.4 (0.3) years). The weekly physical activity of the active boys included compulsory physical education sessions (80-90 minutes a week), three hours a week of extracurricular sports participation, and occasional sports competitions at weekends. The physical activity of the control group was limited to the compulsory physical education curriculum. Bone mineral content (BMC) and areal density (BMD), lean mass, and fat mass were measured by dual energy x ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: The effect of sports participation on femoral bone mass accrual was remarkable. Femoral BMC and BMD increased twice as much in the active group as in the controls over the three year period (p < 0.05). The greatest correlation was found between the increment in femoral bone mass and the increment in lean mass (BMC r = 0.67 and BMD r = 0.69, both p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed enhancement in lean mass as the best predictor of the increment in femoral bone BMC (R = 0.65) and BMD (R = 0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Long term sports participation during early adolescence results in greater accrual of bone mass. Enhancement of lean mass seems to be the best predictor of this bone mass accumulation. However, for a given muscle mass, a greater level of physical activity is associated with greater bone mass and density in peripubertal boys.