Intra-arterial chemoradiation for T3-4 oral cavity cancer: Treatment outcomes in comparison to oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surgery followed by radiotherapy is the standard of care for resectable locally advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We report the treatment outcomes of patients with T3-T4 SCC of the oral cavity treated with chemoradiation, an alternative approach.</p> <p>Patients and methods</p> <p>From a series of 240 patients with stage III-IV carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract who were treated consecutively according to the RADPLAT protocol, a subset analysis of 155 patients with T3-T4 SCC (Oral cavity SCC N = 22, oropharynx SCC N = 94 and hypopharynx SCC N = 39), was performed. The goal was to test the hypothesis that oral cavity SCC treated with chemoradiation has similar outcomes to the two comparison sites.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>With a median follow-up of 58 months, local disease control was 69% and the overall survival was 37%. In comparison, local disease control for the oropharynx and hypopharynx groups was 86% and 79% respectively. The overall survival rate for the oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal groups were 41% and 6% respectively</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients with locally advanced oral cavity cancer treated with the chemoradiation protocol RADPLAT have outcomes that are equal or better compared to patients with similar disease involving the oropharynx and hypopharynx</p

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Is at Herd Immunity in the Majority Segment of the Population of Qatar.

BACKGROUND: Qatar experienced a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic that disproportionately affected the craft and manual worker (CMW) population, who comprise 60% of the total population. This study aimed to assess ever and/or current infection prevalence in this population. METHODS: A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted during July 26 to September 09, 2020, to assess both anti-SARS-CoV-2 positivity through serological testing and current infection positivity through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Associations with antibody and PCR positivity were identified through regression analyses. RESULTS: The study included 2641 participants, 69.3% of whom were <40 years of age. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 positivity was 55.3% (95% CI, 53.3%-57.3%) and was significantly associated with nationality, geographic location, educational attainment, occupation, and previous infection diagnosis. PCR positivity was 11.3% (95% CI, 9.9%-12.8%) and was significantly associated with nationality, geographic location, occupation, contact with an infected person, and reporting 2 or more symptoms. Infection positivity (antibody and/or PCR positive) was 60.6% (95% CI, 58.6%-62.5%). The proportion of antibody-positive CMWs who had a prior SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis was 9.3% (95% CI, 7.9%-11.0%). Only seven infections were ever severe, and only 1 was ever critical-an infection severity rate of 0.5% (95% CI, 0.2%-1.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Six in every 10 CMWs in Qatar have been infected, suggestive of reaching the herd immunity threshold. Infection severity was low, with only 1 in every 200 infections progressing to be severe or critical. Only 1 in every 10 infections had been previously diagnosed, which is suggestive of mostly asymptomatic or mild infections

A pan-gene catalogue of Asian cultivated rice.

The rice genome underpins fundamental research and breeding, but the Nipponbare (japonica) reference does not fully encompass the genetic diversity of Asian rice. To address this gap, the Rice Population Reference Panel (RPRP) was developed, comprising high-quality assemblies of 16 rice cultivars to represent japonica, indica, aus, and aromatic varietal groups. The RPRP has been consistently annotated, supported by extensive experimental data and here we report the computational assignment, characterization and dissemination of stably identified pan-genes. We identified 25,178 core pan-genes shared across all cultivars, alongside cultivar-specific and family-enriched genes. Core genes exhibit higher gene expression and proteomic evidence, higher confidence protein domains and AlphaFold structures, while cultivar-specific genes were enriched for domains under selective breeding pressure, such as for disease resistance. This resource, integrated into public databases, enables researchers to explore genetic and functional diversity via a population-aware reference guide across rice genomes, advancing both basic and applied research

Seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 among the migrant workers in Qatar

Background: Limited data exists on herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) infections in migrant populations. This study investigated HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalences and associations among craft and manual workers (CMWs) in Qatar who constitute 60% of Qatar’s population. Methods: A national population-based cross-sectional seroprevalence survey was conducted on the CMW population, all men, between July 26 and September 9, 2020. 2,612 sera were tested for anti-HSV-1 IgG antibodies using HerpeSelect 1 ELISA IgG kits and for anti-HSV-2 IgG antibodies using HerpeSelect 2 ELISA IgG kits (Focus Diagnostics, USA). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify associations with HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections. Results: Serological testing identified 2,171 sera as positive, 403 as negative, and 38 as equivocal for HSV-1 antibodies, and 300 sera as positive, 2,250 as negative, and 62 as equivocal for HSV-2 antibodies. HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalences among CMWs were estimated at 84.2% (95% CI 82.8–85.6%) and 11.4% (95% CI 10.1–12.6%), respectively. HSV-1 infection was associated with nationality, educational attainment, and occupation. HSV-2 infection was associated with age, nationality, and educational attainment. Conclusions: Over 80% of CMWs are infected with HSV-1 and over 10% are infected with HSV-2. The findings highlight the need for sexual health programs to tackle sexually transmitted infections among the CMW population.The authors are grateful for support from the Biomedical Research Program and the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Biomathematics Research Core, both at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, as well as for support provided by the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation. HHA acknowledges the support of Qatar University internal grant QUCG-CAS-23/24-114. The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the article. Statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors