Autoinflation compared to ventilation tubes for treating chronic otitis media with effusion

Background Otitis media with effusion (OME) is the most common cause of acquired hearing loss and surgery in children. Autoinflation has been suggested as an alternative treatment for OME. Objectives The aim of the study was to compare treatment outcome with a new autoinflation device versus ventilation tube (VT) surgery or watchful waiting in children with chronic bilateral OME from the waiting list for surgery. Methods Forty-five children performed autoinflation during four weeks, forty-five were submitted to VT surgery, and twenty-three were enrolled as control group. Tympanometry was performed in the autoinflation and the control groups and audiometry in all groups. Results An equivalent hearing improvement was achieved in the autoinflation and the VT group at one (p=.19), six (p=.23) and twelve (p=.31) months with no significant alteration in the control group. In the autoinflation group 80% of the children avoided surgery and no complications were reported compared to 34% complication rate in the VT group. Conclusion Autoinflation achieved an equivalent improvement in hearing thresholds compared to VT surgery for treating OME. Significance Autoinflation may be a reasonable first-line treatment for children with OME to potentially avoid surgery. Article Summary: The Moniri autoinflation device is well tolerated and an effective alternative to ventilation tubes for treatment of chronic otitis media with effusion in young children. What's known on this subject: Previous studies have shown that autoinflation may reduce effusion in children with otitis media with effusion; however limited compliance to treatment, lack of adequate hearing evaluation, short follow-up time and also lack of comparative data to ventilation tube surgery have been reported. What this study adds: A new device was developed to allow for the performance of autoinflation in young children. The effect is compared to ventilation tube surgery and equivalent improvement in hearing is achieved in the short and the long-term follow-up.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clinical relevance of breast cancer-related genes as potential biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (OSCC) is a common cancer form with relatively low 5-year survival rates, due partially to late detection and lack of complementary molecular markers as targets for treatment. Molecular profiling of head and neck cancer has revealed biological similarities with basal-like breast and lung carcinoma. Recently, we showed that 16 genes were consistently altered in invasive breast tumors displaying varying degrees of aggressiveness. Methods: To extend our findings from breast cancer to another cancer type with similar characteristics, we performed an integrative analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic data to evaluate the prognostic significance of the 16 putative breast cancer-related biomarkers in OSCC using independent microarray datasets and immunohistochemistry. Predictive models for disease-specific (DSS) and/or overall survival (OS) were calculated for each marker using Cox proportional hazards models. Results: We found that CBX2, SCUBE2, and STK32B protein expression were associated with important clinicopathological features for OSCC (peritumoral inflammatory infiltration, metastatic spread to the cervical lymph nodes, and tumor size). Consequently, SCUBE2 and STK32B are involved in the hedgehog signaling pathway which plays a pivotal role in metastasis and angiogenesis in cancer. In addition, CNTNAP2 and S100A8 protein expression were correlated with DSS and OS, respectively. Conclusions: Taken together, these candidates and the hedgehog signaling pathway may be putative targets for drug development and clinical management of OSCC patients

CD4-positive lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma: Report of unusual case

We are reporting an unusual case of lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma (LELC) in an 8-year-old female patient where the tumor cells showed unusual CD4 expression. The lesion was found in the left submandibular neck region, in the vicinity of the submandibular gland. The salivary gland was not infiltrated by the tumor, and the tumor exhibited a classic LELC with single and clusters of tumor cells surrounded by many hematolymphoid cells. The tumor cells revealed strong positivity for Epstein–Bar virus as confirmed by the EBER: Epstein-Barr Virus in situ hybridization (EBER-ISH) method of staining. Interestingly, the tumor cells expressed membranous immunostaining for the T-helper lymphocyte antibody (CD4) in addition to pan-cytokeratin. A brief discussion about this unusual finding is offered. The patient was treated as a case of Epstein–Bar virus-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma with excellent response