Prognostic and Clinicopathological Significance of the Aberrant Expression of beta-Catenin in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

We would like to thank the research group CTS-392 (Plan Andaluz de Investigacion, Junta de Andalucia, Spain).This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of the aberrant expression of beta-catenin (assessed through the immunohistochemical loss of membrane expression, cytoplasmic and nuclear expression) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We searched for primary-level studies published before October-2021 through PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, with no limitation in regard to their publication date or language. We evaluated the methodological quality and risk of bias of the studies included using the QUIPS tool, carried out meta-analyses, explored heterogeneity and their sources across subgroups and meta-regression, and conducted sensitivity and small-study effects analyses. Forty-one studies (2746 patients) met inclusion criteria. The aberrant immunohistochemical expression of beta-catenin was statistically associated with poor overall survival (HR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.20-2.60, p = 0.004), disease-free survival (HR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.10-5.50, p = 0.03), N+ status (OR = 2.39, 95% CI = 1.68-3.40, p < 0.001), higher clinical stage (OR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.58-3.63, p < 0.001), higher tumour size (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.23-2.53, p = 0.004), and moderately-poorly differentiated OSCC (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.09-2.25, p = 0.02). The loss of beta-catenin in the cell membrane showed the largest effect size in most of meta-analyses (singularly for poor overall survival [HR = 2.37, 95% CI = 1.55-3.62, p < 0.001], N+ status [OR = 3.44, 95% CI = 2.40-4.93, p < 0.001] and higher clinical stage [OR = 2.51, 95% CI = 1.17-5.35, p = 0.02]). In conclusion, our findings indicate that immunohistochemical assessment of the aberrant expression of beta-catenin could be incorporated as an additional and complementary routine prognostic biomarker for the assessment of patients with OSCC.Junta de Andalucia CTS-39

Born-Oppenheimer and Renner-Teller coupled-channel quantum reaction dynamics of O(3P) + H2+(X2Σg+) collisions

We present Born-Oppenheimer (BO) and Renner-Teller (RT) time dependent quantum dynamics studies of the reactions O(3P) + H2+(X2Σg+) → OH+(X3Σ-) + H(2S) and OH(X2Π) + H+. We consider the OH2+ X˜2A″ and Ã2A′ electronic states that correlate with a linear 2Π species. The electronic angular momenta operators L and L2 are considered in nonadiabatic coupled-channel calculations, where the associated RT effects are due to diagonal VRT potentials that add up to the PESs and to off-diagonal CRTcouplings between the potential energy surfaces (PESs). Initial-state-resolved reaction probabilities PI, integral cross sections σI, and rate constants kI are obtained using recent ab initio PESs and couplings and the real wavepacket formalism. Because the PESs are strongly attractive, PI have no threshold energy and are large, σI decrease with collision energy, and kI depend little on the temperature. The X˜2A″ PES is up to three times more reactive than the Ã2A′ PES and H2+ rotational effects (j0 = 0, 1) are negligible. The diagonal VRT potentials are strongly repulsive at the collinearity and nearly halve all low-energy observables with respect to the BO ones. The off-diagonal CRTcouplings are important at low partial waves, where they mix the X˜2A″ and Ã2A′ states up to ∼20%. However, VRT effects predominate over the CRT ones that change at most by ∼19% the BO values of σI and kI. The reaction O(3P) + H2+(X2Σg+) → OH+(X3Σ-) + H(2S) is probably one of the most reactive atom + diatom collisions because its RT rate constant at room temperature is equal to 2.26 × 10-10 cm3 s-1. Within the BO approximation, the present results agree rather well with recent quasiclassical and centrifugal-sudden data using the sa me PESsThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN projects CTQ2011-27857-C02-01 and CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 under grant no. CSD2009-00038 entitled ‘‘Molecular Astrophysics: the Herschel and Alma era’’). Thanks are also given to the ‘‘Generalitat de Catalunya’’ (Autonomous Government of Catalonia; refs. 2014SGR 25, 2014SGR 1582 and XRQTC) for some help. We gratefully acknowledge H. Guo and D. Xie for the matrix elements of the electronic angular moment

State of Evidence on Oral Health Problems in Diabetic Patients: A Critical Review of the Literature

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health problem, having recognized that in the next 20 years the number of diabetic patients in the world will increase to 642 million. DMexerts enormous repercussions on general health diabetic (especially derived from vascular, cardiac, renal, ocular, or neurological affectation). It entails in addition a high number of deaths directly related to the disease, as well as a high health care cost, estimated at $673 billion annually. Oral cavity is found among all the organs and systems affected in the course of DM. Important pathologies are developed with higher prevalence, such as periodontitis (PD), alterations in salivary flow, fungal infections, oral cancer, and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD). It has been proven that PD hinders the metabolic control of DM and that the presence of PD increases the possibility for developing diabetes. Despite the relevance of these oral pathologies, the knowledge of primary care physicians and diabetes specialists about the importance of oral health in diabetics, as well as the knowledge of dentists about the importance of DM for oral health of patients is scarce or non-existent. It is accepted that the correct management of diabetic patients requires interdisciplinary teams, including dentists. In this critical review, the existing knowledge and evidence-degree on the preventive, clinical, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic aspects of oral diseases that occur with a significant frequency in the diabetic population are developed in extension

Approximation by polynomials with constant coefficients and the Thresholding Greedy Algorithm

Greedy bases are those bases where the Thresholding Greedy Algorithm (introduced by S. V. Konyagin and V. N. Temlyakov) produces the best possible approximation up to a constant. In 2017, Bern\'a and Blasco gave a characterization of these bases using polynomials with constant coefficients. In this paper, we continue this study improving some optimization problems and extending some results to the context of quasi-Banach spaces.Comment: corrected some typo

An Evidence-Based Update on the Potential for Malignancy of Oral Lichen Planus and Related Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

A systematic review and a meta-analysis is presented on published articles on the malignant transformation of oral lichen planus (OLP) and related conditions, which, based on current evidence, updates an earlier systematic review published by our research group that included publications until November 2018. In this updated study (Nov-2023) we searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. We evaluated the methodological quality of studies (QUIPS tool) and carried out meta-analyses. The inclusion criteria were met by 101 studies (38,083 patients), of which, 20 new primary-level studies (11,512 patients) were published in the last 5 years and were added to our updated study. The pooled malignant transformation ratio was 1.43% (95% CI = 1.09–1.80) for OLP; 1.38% (95% CI = 0.16–3.38) for oral lichenoid lesions; 1.20% (95% CI = 0.00–4.25) for lichenoid reactions; and 5.13% (95% CI = 1.90–9.43) for OLP with dysplasia. No significant differences were found between the OLL or LR groups and the OLP subgroup (p = 0.853 and p = 0.328, respectively), and the malignant transformation was significantly higher for the OLP with dysplasia group in comparison with the OLP group (p = 0.001). The factors that had a significant impact with a higher risk of malignant transformation were the presence of epithelial dysplasia, a higher methodological quality, the consumption of tobacco and alcohol, the location of lesions on the tongue, the presence of atrophic and erosive lesions, and infection by the hepatitis C virus. In conclusion, OLP behaves as an oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD), whose malignancy ratio is probably underestimated as a consequence essentially of the use of inadequate diagnostic criteria and the low methodological quality of the studies on the subject

Challenges in the Early Diagnosis of Oral Cancer, Evidence Gaps and Strategies for Improvement: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews

Oral cancer is a growing problem, accounting for 377,713 worldwide new cases per year, and 177,757 deaths annually and representing a 5-year mortality rate close to 50%, which is a considerable mortality that has not decreased substantially in the last 40 years. The main cause of this high mortality is related to the diagnosis of a high percentage of oral cancers in advanced stages (stages III and IV) in which treatment is complex, mutilating or disabling, and ineffective. The essential cause of a cancer diagnosis at a late stage is the delay in diagnosis, therefore, the achievement of the objective of improving the prognosis of oral cancer involves reducing the delay in its diagnosis. The reasons for the delay in the diagnosis of oral cancer are complex and involve several actors and circumstances—patients, health care providers, and health services. In this paper, we present the results of a scoping review of systematic reviews on the diagnostic delay in oral cancer with the aim to better understand, based on the evidence, and discuss in depth, the reasons for this fact, and to identify evidence gaps and formulate strategies for improvement

Strategies for dealing with new technological and economic situation of Spanish advertising industry

El sector publicitario está viviendo grandes cambios que afectan a prácticamente todos los ámbitos de actividad y a todos los sujetos implicados. Con esta investigación pretendemos conocer la influencia que la crisis económica y la evolución tecnológica está teniendo en estas transformaciones y en las decisiones estratégicas que se ponen en marcha en el sector. Utilizando como herramienta metodológica la encuesta, se entrevista a más de 60 profesionales y académicos expertos en publicidad y en comunicaciones de marketing. De las respuestas de los encuestados podemos concluir que si bien la influencia de la crisis y de la tecnología es notable, no lo es con la misma intensidad en todas las variables analizadas.El mismo texto del resumen pero en inglés (o idioma alternativo) y en cursiva. Advertising industry is undergoing major changes that affect every area of activity, and all individual involved. With this research, we want to know the influence that the financial crisis and technological change is having on these transformations. Using the survey as a methodological tool, we interviewed more than 60 professional and academic experts in advertising and marketing communications. From the answers of the respondents, we can conclude that although the influence of the crisis and technology is remarkable, it is not with the same intensity in all variables analysed

Impacto territorial de la dependencia en España: población afectada y costes asociados a su atención

La aprobación y puesta en marcha de la Ley de Dependencia hasupuesto un nuevo campo de actuación para las políticas públicas. De acuerdo adicha Ley, son las Comunidades Autónomas las responsables de ofrecer los servicios.Por ello parece oportuno plantearse si el impacto será igual en todas ellas.Este trabajo trata de evaluar el número de personas dependientes con derecho aayudas públicas en cada territorio y el coste asociado a su atención, tanto en elinstante actual como hasta 2015, año en el que el sistema público de atención estaráplenamente desarrollado

Significance of the Overexpression of Substance P and Its Receptor NK-1R in Head and Neck Carcinogenesis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The data that supports the findings of this study are available in the Supplementary material of this article.The authors would like to thank the research group CTS-392 (Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Junta de Andalucía, Spain).Simple Summary Head and neck cancer is the sixth most frequent type of cancer, with more than 600,000 new cases/year, and it is responsible for around 300,000 deaths/year. Substance P (SP) is a peptide of the tachykinin family whose functions are related to a large number of physiological mechanisms in humans. The implications of SP in human carcinogenesis have recently been reported through the stimulation of its receptor NK-1R, or directly through the effects derived from the constitutive activation of NK-1R. With this background, we have shown, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, evidence that the upregulation of SP and NK-1R are oncogenic events involved in head and neck carcinogenesis, probably acting in the early stages of malignization. Our findings also highlight translational opportunities for SP/NK-1R as potential therapeutic targets in head and neck cancer. The objective of our study has been, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, to increase the scientific evidence on the implications of SP and its receptor NK-1R in head and neck carcinogenesis. We searched studies published before May-2020 without date and publication language restrictions (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus). We evaluated the quality of the studies included (QUIPS tool). We performed heterogeneity, sensitivity, small-study effects, and subgroup analyses. A total 16 studies and 1308 cases met inclusion criteria. Qualitative evaluation demonstrated that not all studies were performed with the same scientific rigor, finding the greatest risk of bias in the study confounding and prognostic factors measurement domains. Quantitative evaluation showed a greater SP/NK-1R overexpression in malignant head and neck lesions compared to benign lesions (p = 0.02), and that expression was observed in malignant salivary gland pathology. Likewise, we found a higher overexpression of NK-1R compared to SP (p = 0.02). In conclusion, the results of this systematic review and meta-analysis show evidence that the upregulation of SP and NK-1R are oncogenic events involved in head and neck carcinogenesis, probably acting in the early stages of malignization. In addition, there is evidence of a greater relevance of the upregulation of the NK-1R receptor compared to SP, which highlights the interest in deepening the development of targeted therapies on the receptor. Future studies assessing the relationships between SP/NK-1R among subjects with head and neck tumors could consider the recommendations given in this systematic review and meta-analysis to improve and standardize future research

A Scoping Review on Gaps in the Diagnostic Criteria for Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia: A Conceptual Proposal and Diagnostic Evidence-Based Criteria

We would like to thank the research group CTS-392 (Plan Andaluz de Investigacion, Junta de Andalucia, Spain).Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is considered as an oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD) that presents with a high tendency to recurrence after treatment and has the highest malignant transformation ratio among all OPMD (50%). Evidence-based publications have indicated that the malignant evolution reported is significantly related to the inconsistent diagnostic criteria used in primary-level studies; so, it has been hypothesized that the risk of oral cancer for this disease could even be underestimated. This is important because PVL requires specific management protocols, evidence-based, aimed at the early diagnosis of cancer developing in these lesions. We present a scoping review—a novel approach to mapping the available literature on a given topic to provide an overview of the available research evidence and to highlight possible gaps in the evidence—especially related in our study to the diagnostic aspects of PVL, and to issue a conceptual proposal and diagnostic criteria for PVL.We conclude that PVL is a white, multifocal and progressive lesion with a high malignant transformation rate which is diagnosed mainly around the age of 60 years without any specific histological characterization. We also advise a personal reflection on the level of certainty with which the clinician makes the diagnosis of a particular case of PVL.Junta de Andalucia CTS-39