Yan Feng Chen

Treatment and prognosis of oral mucosal melanoma

To evaluate the treatment and prognosis of oral mucosal melanoma (OMM) and provide basic data for clinical treatment. Retrospective analysis of clinicopathological data on OMM from January 1976 to December 2005. Survival analysis was performed and Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare the effects of clinicopathological factors on survival using SPSS 18.0 software. A Cox model was applied for multivariate analysis. The 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of 51 cases of OMM were 35.0% and 20.7%, respectively. Lymph node metastatic sites were predominantly at levels Ib-III (29/31, 93.5%). Patients of age ≥55 years and size ≥4 cm had a lower survival rate than those of aged <55 years and size <4 cm. The 3-year OS and 5-year OS of patients who underwent surgery combined with biotherapy or biochemotherapy (70.1% and 58.4%, respectively) were significantly higher than that of patients who underwent other therapeutic regimens (including surgery, chemotherapy, surgery combined with radiotherapy or surgery combined with chemotherapy) (25.0% and 12.5%, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that surgery combined with biotherapy or biochemotherapy and neck dissection were effective treatments for OMM. Patients aged ≥55 years had a worse prognosis than those aged <55 years. OMM has a poor prognosis, but multimodality treatment including surgery combined with biotherapy may improve the prognosis. In patients aged ≥55 years with tumor size ≥4 cm, increasing the scope of resection may be effective. Elective levels I-III neck dissection should be considered in TanyNOMO cases.

COX-2 Gene increases tongue cancer cell proliferation and invasion through VEGF-C pathway

COX-2 induces the proliferation and invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma. In the present study, the role of the COX-2 gene in the tongue cancer cell proliferation and invasion was investigated. A short hairpin RNA (shRNA)method was used to knock down COX-2 gene expression and investigate the relationship between COX-2 and VEGF-C, and the role of the COX-2 gene for proliferation and invasion was also investigated in the tongue cancer cell Tca8113. COX-2 gene overexpressed in tongue cancer cell line. Suppressing the expression of COX-2 by shRNA could decrease cell proliferation comparing with control shRNA. Nevertheless, depressing COX-2 gene expression by shRNA reduced VEGF-C expression on both mRNA and protein levels. VEGF-C gene expression could be regulated by COX-2 gene. Our results suggested that COX-2 played essential roles in the proliferation and metastasis of tongue cancer, and COX-2 could serve as a potential chemotherapy target for tongue cancer.

Elective neck dissection in clinical stage I squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: Does it improve regional control or survival time?

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether elective neck dissection could improve regional control or survival time in clinical stage I squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue (OTSCC). This was a retrospective study of patients with surgical treatment between January 1991 and December 2003. A total of 131 patients were included in the study, and all of them received operation of the primary site, while 88 cases underwent selective neck dissection simultaneously including level I-III neck dissection in 49 patients and level I-V neck dissection in 39 patients. In all these cases, the rate of occult neck metastases was 23.7%. The 4-year local control rates in patients with only primary site treatment, patients with level I-III neck dissection and patients with level I-V neck dissection were 81.0%, 83.6% and 89.1%, respectively. By univariate analyse, neck dissection did not increase regional control rate, disease free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS). Multivariate analyses showed that neck dissection was not an independent factor for DFS or OS. This study showed that the occult neck metastases rate was 23.7% in clinical stage I OTSCC. Elective neck dissection did not significantly improve regional control, DFS and OS in clinical stage I patients. There is a need for accurate and valid methods to select the patients who would benefit from elective neck treatment.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Head and Neck Castleman Disease

PURPOSE To increase the understanding of head and neck Castleman disease (CD) and to improve its diagnosis and management. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective study was performed on the medical records of 14 patients with cervical CD treated at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from January 2000 through December 2009. The predictor variables were age, gender, site, size, and treatment modality. The outcome variables were survival time and recurrence. RESULTS Neck level II (9/14) was the most common site for CD. On computed tomogram, all 14 cases appeared as nodular and cylindrical-shaped lesions growing along the neck. Computed tomogram showed a uniform density and clear margins of the lesions. Thirteen cases with hyaline-vascular type CD showed significant enhancement on enhancing computed tomographic scans. One case with plasma-cell type CD accompanied by Hodgkin lymphoma showed mild heterogeneous enhancement and a strong vascular shadow inside the lesion. Thirteen patients with unicentric CD underwent regional resection. Follow-up time ranged from 14 to 132 months, during which none of the patients relapsed. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that head and neck CD has a low incidence and that the most common site is unilateral level II. Regional resection was the first choice for the treatment of unicentric CD. Overall, chemotherapy was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with multicentric CD. Future studies will focus on the early diagnosis and treatment of multicentric CD. Long-term follow-up is also necessary.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the head and neck

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare benign neoplasm. The aim of this study was to enhance the understanding of head and neck IMT and to improve its diagnosis and management. Clinical features and related treatment of 10 IMT cases were retrospectively analyzed and the literature was reviewed. Tumor sites identified included four in the maxillary space, two in the buccal space, two in the parotid gland, one in the post aurem, and one in the neck. Nine of ten patients received local resection, and one of ten patients received a total maxillectomy. One patient had a local recurrence and died, while the other nine patients had no distant metastases and survived. A computed tomography (CT) exam performed on nine of the ten patients showed that six of these nine cases were heterogeneous in density, while the other three cases were homogeneous. Four cases showed marked heterogeneous enhancement, two cases showed mild heterogeneous enhancement, and three cases showed moderate homogeneous enhancement on contrast-enhanced CT images. The incidence of IMT in the head and neck is low, and local resection is currently the best treatment. A prolonged postoperative follow-up period is necessary for patients with IMT.

Anatomical study and modified incision of the infrahyoid myocutaneous flap

Skin paddle necrosis and neck function damage, particularly rotation, are two problems associated with the infrahyoid myocutaneous flap clinical application. The aim of this study was to investigate vessel supply and drainage of the skin paddle and to report our modified flap incision technique. In this work, we conducted a cadaveric study and reviewed our experience with the modified incision and describe the surgical procedure. We confirmed the platysma muscle branch feeds the skin paddle overlying the infrahyoid myocutaneous flap. The length between the platysma muscle branch entry point and its originating point measured 3.38 (min 2.51, max 4.52) cm. The flap has two drainage systems. The skin paddle of the flap was drained by the anterior jugular vein and external jugular vein, respectively, or both. The infrahyoid muscles were drained by the superior thyroid vein. In the early four cases, where the platysma muscle branch was not protected, skin paddle necrosis appeared in two cases. In the later seven cases, which involved preservation of the platysma muscle branch, all flaps successfully survived. Patients in whom a modified incision was used all achieved both satisfactory rehabilitation of neck function and an adequate esthetic result. We conclude that the necrosis rate of the skin paddle of the flap can be reduced by carefully protecting its supply and drainage vessels. The modified incision can improve neck function postoperatively.

Modified frontolateral partial laryngectomy operation: combined muscle-pedicle hyoid bone and thyrohyoid membrane flap in laryngeal reconstruction

Objective Laryngeal reconstruction is needed to preserve laryngeal function in patients who have undergone extensive vertical or frontal partial laryngectomy. However, the procedure remains a difficult challenge. Several reconstruction techniques have been described, but these techniques pose risks of complications such as laryngeal stenosis. This study aimed to evaluate the postoperative course and functional outcomes of a new technique that combined a muscle-pedicle hyoid bone and a thyrohyoid flap during laryngeal reconstruction after tumor resection. Methods Four patients underwent extensive vertical partial or frontal partial laryngectomy for cancer. After tumor resection, laryngeal reconstruction was performed using the proposed technique. Postoperative recovery time, complications, and oncologic results were evaluated. Results The four patients were successfully treated with the proposed technique. No dyspnea, dysphagia, or death occurred during the postoperative course. Decannulation was performed after a median of 3 days. The average postoperative hospital stay was 7 days. Short-term postoperative functional recovery was normal. No laryngeal stenosis or tumor recurrence was observed in any of the four patients after a follow-up period of more than 24 months. Conclusion The combination of the muscle-pedicle hyoid bone and the thyrohyoid flap is a reliable procedure for laryngeal reconstruction after extensive vertical partial or frontal partial laryngectomy.

Trends in clinical features and survival of oral cavity cancer: fifty years of experience with 3,362 consecutive cases from a single institution

Background Global data demonstrate minimal improvement in the survival rate for oral cavity cancer (OCC) patients. We wished to know whether or not clinical features and survival rate have changed over time for OCC patients receiving initial treatment and follow-up at a large cancer center in China. Methods Clinical features and survival data were collected on patients diagnosed during the successive decades of 1960–1969 (n=253), 1970–1979 (n=497), 1980–1989 (n= 659), 1990–1999 (n=793), and 2000–2009 (n=1,160) at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. Results Over time, the overall 5-year survival rate for OCC patients was 52.0%. According to tumor localization, this rate was 71.4% for lip cancer, 56.3% for oral tongue cancer, and 42.7% for other parts of the oral cavity. From the 1960s to the 2000s, the 5-year survival rate steadily improved from 47.8% to 55.6% (P<0.001). Survival steadily decreased with age and was higher for women than for men in the 3 most recent decades. The survival rate for male patients was constant over time, while the rate for female patients improved dramatically. Obvious trends in clinical features over time included the following: increasing age of patients, increasing proportions of localized disease at diagnosis, decreasing proportions of diagnoses of lip cancer, decreasing proportions of diagnoses of squamous cell carcinoma, and decreasing proportions of non-surgical treatment approaches. Conclusion The survival rate has steadily improved for OCC patients at this cancer center.

Downregulated expression of TSHR is associated with distant metastasis in thyroid cancer

In differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), the association between thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) and metastasis, and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The role of TSHR in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has not yet been reported, to the best of our knowledge. In the present study, the role of TSHR in the distant metastasis of DTC was investigated. TSHR was significantly downregulated in well-differentiated thyroid cancer cells and tissues, and a lack of TSHR promoted thyroid cancer cell invasion and metastasis by inhibiting the EMT of thyroid cancer cells. In addition, the prognostic value of TSHR in thyroid cancer was analyzed. Immunohistochemical analysis of 172 DTC tissues revealed that a lack of expression of TSHR was associated with distant metastasis and a poor survival rate. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that TSHR expression was a significant prognostic factor for distant metastasis and survival time. The results from the present study demonstrated that TSHR inhibits metastasis through regulating EMT in vitro, and that a lack of expression of TSHR is a significant independent factor affecting distant metastasis and poor prognosis in DTC.

Clinical analysis of 51 cases of oral mucosal melanoma

OBJECTIVE To investigate the treatment and prognosis of the patients with oral mucosal melanoma (OMM). METHODS The clinicopathological and follow-up data of patients with OMM in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from January 1976 to December 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS Fifty-one cases were analyzed. The pathological lymph node metastasis rate was 61% (31/51) and the affected sites were confined to level I(b)-III (94%). The overall three year and five yearsurvival rates were 35% and 21% respectively. No significant difference of three year and five year survival rates were found between the group of incisional biopsy and the group of excisional biopsy. The prognosis was not affected by pigmentation. The survival rate of the patients receiving surgery combined with biotherapy or biochemotherapy was significantly higher than that of the patients treated by other modalities (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS In patients with OMM, lymph node metastasis was mostly confined to level I(b)-III. Incisional biopsy and pigmentation were not associated with an unfavorable prognosis. The prognosis of the patients with OMM was poor and the patients may get a better prognosis by receiving surgery combined with biotherapy or biochemotherapy.