Edward J. Shin

Interleukin‐12 Expression Enhances Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Oncolytic Therapy in Murine Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objectives: Replication‐competent, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has been demonstrated to be an effective oncolytic agent in a variety of malignant tumors. Cytokine gene transfer has also been used as immunomodulatory therapy for cancer. To test the use of combining these two approaches, an oncolytic VSV vector (rVSV‐IL12) was designed to express the murine interleukin 12 (IL12) gene. This cytokine‐carrying oncolytic virus was compared with an analogous noncytokine‐carrying fusogenic virus (rVSV‐F) in the treatment of murine SCC VII squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Thyroidectomy Outcomes A National Perspective

Objectives Describe trends and outcomes of patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Study Design and Setting Retrospective search of national inpatient database. Subjects and Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2009 was searched using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes for thyroidectomy. Data extraction included patient demographics, hospital characteristics, and associated diagnoses. Subgroup analysis was performed on mortalities; bivariate and multivariate analysis was used to examine predictors of complications. Results In the United States, 59,478 patients were admitted and underwent thyroidectomy in 2009. Their mean (SD) age was 53.0 (16.4) years. Mean (SD) length of stay was 3.0 (6.9) days, and mean (SD) total charges was

Estrogen activity as a preventive and therapeutic target in thyroid cancer

39,236 (

Treatment outcomes for patients with synovial sarcoma of the head and neck

73,679). Total thyroidectomy was performed in 53.6% of patients; 33.2% underwent unilateral lobectomy. Most common thyroid disorders included nontoxic nodular goiter (36.0%) and malignant neoplasm (30.3%). There were 363 (0.61%) mortalities, with a mean (SD) age of 65.5 (15.2) years, length of stay of 13.9 (15.2) days, and total charges of

Inhibition of uPAR and uPA reduces invasion in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells

218,855 (

Fusogenic vesicular stomatitis virus for the treatment of head and neck squamous carcinomas

191,977). Of all patients, 6.18% had hypocalcemia and 0.77% had hypoparathyroidism; the incidence of vocal cord paresis was 0.85% unilaterally and 0.34% bilaterally. Multivariate analysis revealed predictors of complications following thyroid surgery were female sex (P = .0001), total thyroidectomy procedure (P < .0001), hospital location and teaching status (P = .0060), hospital bed size (P = .0054), type of thyroid disorder, and underlying patient comorbidities. Conclusion Reporting of normative data for thyroidectomy facilitates comparison. Hospitalizations for patients undergoing thyroidectomy require significant resource utilization. Predictors of complications include female sex, type of thyroid disorder and procedure, hospital location and teaching status, hospital bed size, and patient comorbidities.

Combined VSV Oncolytic Virus and Chemotherapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine-related cancer with increasing incidences during the last five years. Interestingly, according to the American Thyroid Association, the incidences of thyroid proliferative diseases occur four to five times more in women than in men with the risk of developing thyroid disorders being one in every eight females. Several epidemiological studies have suggested a possible correlation between incidences of thyroid malignancies and hormones but the precise contribution of estrogen in thyroid proliferative disease initiation, and progression is not well understood. This review is an attempt to define the phenotypic and genotypic modulatory effects of estrogen on thyroid proliferative diseases. The significance and relevance of expression of estrogen receptors, α and β, in normal and malignant thyroid tissues and their effects on different molecular pathways involved in growth and function of the thyroid gland are discussed. These novel findings open up areas of developing alternative therapeutic treatments and preventive approaches which employ the use of antiestrogen to treat thyroid malignancies.

Squamous cell carcinoma in a thyroglossal duct cyst: A case report with review of the literature

Evaluation of: Harb WJ, Luna MA, Patel SR, Ballo MT, Roberts DB, Sturgis EM. Survival in patients with synovial sarcoma of the head and neck: association with tumor location, size, and extension. Head Neck 29, 731–740 (2007). Synovial sarcoma of the head and neck occurs most commonly in males in their third decade of life. Synovial sarcoma of the head is rare, accounting for less than 10% of all head and neck sarcomas. Due to its rarity, there are very few publications on the treatment approach for these tumors. However, it is uniformly accepted that all head and neck synovial sarcomas should undergo complete surgical resection followed by postoperative radiation therapy in those at high risk for locoregional recurrence. In terms of chemotherapy, there are also emerging data on its effectiveness in the treatment of synovial sarcoma of the head and neck. The paper under evaluation reports a single institution’s 36-year experience on the treatment of synovial sarcoma of the head and neck. This paper highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of this disease.

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head and neck surgeons

We analyzed the expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and normal thyroid tissue and examined in vitro how uPA and uPAR contribute to an invasive/metastatic phenotype, and the functional consequences of inhibiting this system.

Second Primaries after Major Salivary Gland Cancer

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the efficacy of recombinant fusogenic VSV [rVSV-NDV/F(L289A) or rVSV-F] in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: The in vitro replication and cytotoxicity of rVSV-F were studied in two human SCC cell lines, in one murine SCC cell line, and in human keratinocytes. The effects on tumor size and animal survival were investigated following in vivo rVSV-F treatment of floor-of-mouth tumor model C3H/HeJ mice. RESULTS: Recombinant VSV-F preferentially induced rapid syncytia formation, and replicated in (P < 0.04) and killed (P < 1 × 10-13) all three SCC lines tested. The virus had no observable effect on human keratinocytes. Tumor size was smaller (P < 0.03) and overall survival was better (P < 0.001) for treated animals than for control animals. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Recombinant VSV-F confers a modest survival benefit for HNSCC in this orthotopic murine model. This oncolytic virus holds promise as a novel cancer treatment for recurrent HNSCC.