Search results for "Head and Neck"
showing 10 items of 362 documents
Microbiological effects of an antiseptic mouthrinse in irradiated cancer patients
2010
Objective: To assess the microbiological effects of an antiseptic, non-alcohol based mouth-rinse containing chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium chloride, in patients undergoing radiation therapy for head-and-neck cancer. Study Design: This was a parallel, double-blind, prospective, randomized clinical trial, including patients irradiated as part of the therapy of head-and-neck cancer, aged 18-75, with at least 10 teeth, and willing to sign an informed consent. Cancer patients were randomly assigned to one of the two treatments (test mouth-rinse or a placebo). Three visits were scheduled (baseline, 14 and 28 days). Microbiological findings were evaluated in tongue, mucosa and subgingival sampl…
The effect of amifostine or IMRT to preserve the parotid function after radiotherapy of the head and neck region measured by quantitative salivary gl…
2008
Purpose: In this retrospective study, two approaches to preserve the parotid function after radiotherapy (RT) were compared: application of the radioprotective agent amifostine during RT and parotid sparing intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Patients and methods: Patients were qualified for this analysis if (1) both parotid glands received a radiation dose of P50 Gy using conventional radiotherapy techniques (cRT) or if they received a parotid sparing IMRT as alternative, if (2) salivary gland scintigraphies before and after RT were performed, and if (3) a normal parotid function was present before RT. Quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy was used to assess the parotid gland funct…
Cancer net survival on registry data: use of the new unbiased Pohar-Perme estimator and magnitude of the bias with the classical methods
2013
Net survival, the survival which might occur if cancer was the only cause of death, is a major epidemiological indicator required for international or temporal comparisons. Recent findings have shown that all classical methods used for routine estimation of net survival from cancer-registry data, sometimes called "relative-survival methods," provide biased estimates. Meanwhile, an unbiased estimator, the Pohar-Perme estimator (PPE), was recently proposed. Using real data, we investigated the magnitude of the errors made by four "relative-survival" methods (Ederer I, Hakulinen, Ederer II and a univariable regression model) vs. PPE as reference and examined the influence of time of follow-up,…
Demethylation treatment restores hic1 expression and impairs aggressiveness of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
2010
Promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes is a common feature of primary cancer cells. However, at date the somatic epigenetic events that occur in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tumorigenesis are not yet been well defined. In the present study we analysed the methylation status of the gene hypermethylated in cancer-1 (hic1), a gene located on chromosome 17p13.3, a region frequently lost in HNSCC. We analysed 22 HNSCC samples and three cell lines using methylation specific PCR (MSP). We found hic1 methylated in 21 out of 22 samples and in all three cell lines. Treatment of the cell lines with the demethylating agent 5-Azacytidin (5-Aza) resulted in the demethylation…
Salivary flow and xerostomia in patients with type 2 diabetes
2018
Background: Saliva is secreted by the major and minor salivary glands. There are a number of physiological factors that can reduce this secretion such as age, sex, body weight, number of teeth present in the mouth or time of day. This decrease may also be caused by the use of certain drugs, radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, chronic rheumatic diseases such as Sjögren's syndrome and other systemic disorders such as diabetes mellitus (DM). Objective of this study was to investigate the effect of type 2 DM on salivary secretion and its relation to the sensation of xerostomia. Methods: Forty-seven patients with type 2 DM and 46 healthy individuals, aged 40-80, participated in the study. Sam…
Vinorelbine plus cisplatin in recurrent or previously untreated unresectable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
1995
Despite considerable progress achieved in the management of head and neck carcinomas (HNC) in the last decade, the prognosis of patients with advanced squamous cell HNC is still dismal. On the basis of the reported good activity of a new vinca alkaloid derivative, i.e., vinorelbine (VNR), we tested the combination of cisplatin and VNR in a series of patients with recurrent or previously untreated unresectable squamous cell HNC. Thirty-five patients with recurrent or previously untreated unresectable squamous cell HNC were treated with a combination of cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1, plus vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 i.v. push on days 1 and 8. This cycle was repeated every 3 weeks. Analysis of response…
Neo-adjuvant chemo-(immuno-)therapy of advanced squamous-cell head and neck carcinoma: a multicenter, phase III, randomized study comparing cisplatin…
1998
We carried out an open, randomized, phase III, multicenter clinical trial to compare, in neo-adjuvant setting, the clinical response and toxicity of the combination chemotherapy cisplatin + 5-FU with the same combination plus s.c. recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) in patients with advanced (stage III IV) head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Regimen A was the classical Al Sarraf treatment: 100 mg/m2 cisplatin i.v. on day 1 plus 1000 mg m(-2) day(-1) 5-FU on days 1-5 as a continuous infusion. Regimen B was the same as regimen A plus 4.5 MIU/day rIL-2 s.c. on days 8-12 and 15-19. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks for three cycles. A total of 33 patients were enrolled in the study;…
Protective effect of amifostine on dental health after radiotherapy of the head and neck.
2000
Abstract Purpose: The cytoprotective agent amifostine has been shown to reduce the radiation-induced acute and chronic xerostomia in head and neck cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not amifostine also reduces the incidence of dental caries associated with the radiation-induced xerostomia. Methods and Materials: The dental status before and 1 year after radiotherapy was retrospectively compared in 35 unselected patients treated as part of the prospective randomized and multicenter open-label Phase III study (WR-38) at the University Hospitals of Heidelberg, Freiburg, and Erlangen. The WR-38 study compared radiotherapy in head and neck cancer with and witho…
Bcl-2 as prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
2005
A series of 66 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was retrospectively analyzed by immunohisto-chemistry for bcl-2 expression to verify its predictive value for clinical outcome in patients with OSCC. After grouping for bcl-2 expression, OSCCs were statistically analyzed for the variables age, gender, histological grading (G), TNM, staging, recurrence, and overall survival rate. Univariate and multivariate (Cox regression) analyses were performed. Thirty-six OSCC (54.5%) showed expression for bcl-2, whereas 30 (44.5%) were negative. No statistical association was found between bcl-2 expression and any variables considered at baseline. Overall disease-specific survival rate at 72 mo…
High constant incidence rates of second primary cancers of the head and neck: a pooled analysis of 13 cancer registries
2010
Scanty data are available on the incidence (i.e., the absolute risk) of second cancers of the head and neck (HN) and its pattern with age. We investigated this issue using data from a multicentric study of 13 population-based cancer registries from Europe, Canada, Australia and Singapore for the years 1943-2000. A total of 99,257 patients had a first primary HN cancer (15,985 tongue, 22,378 mouth, 20,758 pharyngeal, and 40,190 laryngeal cancer), contributing to 489,855 person-years of follow-up. 1294 of the patients (1.3%) were diagnosed with second HN cancers (342 tongue, 345 mouth, 418 pharynx, and 189 larynx). Male incidence rates of first HN cancer steeply increased from 0.68/100,000 at…