The relationship between human papillomavirus and prognosis of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a meta analysis / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>UNLABELLED</b>OBJECTIVE To examine survival differences in prognosis and survival between patients with HPV-positive and those with HPV-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Pubmed, Embase, Web of science and Medline databases were searched from their inception till June 2014. A random-effect meta-analysis was used to pool study estimates evaluating overall (all-cause mortality), disease-specific (death from OPSCC), disease-free (recurrence free), progression-free survival outcomes and local regional control rate in HPV-positive vs HPV-negative OPSCC. After study selection, two reviewers assessed and extracted data independently. Meta-analysis was performed using the STATA 11.0 software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Thirty-seven studies were included. HPV-positive OPSCC patients had a better overall survival compared to HPV-negative patients (HR 0.39, 95% CI 0.32-0.46). HPV-positive OPSCC patients had a significantly lower disease specific mortality (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.22-0.39) and were less likely to experience progression or recurrence of their cancers than HPV-negative patients (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.25-0.42). Both disease-free survival and progression-free survival were significantly improved in patients with HPV-positive OPSCC ( HR 0.38, 95% CI 0.29-0.47 and HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.29-0.63, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>HPV infection is an important prognostic factor of OPSCC. Stratified therapies can be applied in OPSCC based on HPV status of tumours.</p>

Significance of Interleukin-17A in patients with nasal polyposis.

Background：Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a key inflammatory cytokine in many disorders, while the significance of IL-17A in nasal polyposis (NP) is still obscure. This study aimed to investigate the expression of IL-17A in nasal polyps from both atopic and nonatopic patients and its associations with clinical and histological features. Methods: In all, 30 patients with NP were included, and were grouped into atopic and nonatopic patients according to skin prick test (SPT). Disease severity was evaluated by symptom score, endoscopy score and CT score. Histological characteristics were assessed by eosinophilic infiltration, basement membrane (BM) thickness, epithelial damage, squamous metaplasia, and goblet cell hyperplasia. IL-17A expression in polyps was detected by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. Results: Endoscopy score and CT score were significantly higher in atopic NP patients than in nonatopic NP patients (P<0.05). IL-17A levels were significantly upregulated in both atopic (P<0.01) and nonatopic (P<0.05) patients versus controls. Furthermore, IL-17A levels were significantly higher in the atopic group versus nonatopic group. Significantly positive correlations were found between IL-17A levels and CT scores, eosinophilic infiltration and BM thicknesses. Conclusions: These results indicated that expression of IL-17A was significantly upregulated in NP patients and was more severe in atopic NP patients, suggesting that IL-17A may play an important role in the pathology of NP and atopy may contribute to NP by stimulating the production of IL-17A.

Epidemiological Features of Allergic Rhinitis in Four Major Cities in Western China / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Allergic rhinitis (AR),with an increasing uptrend of the prevalence in many developed and developing countries,is a global health problem that affects people of all ages and ethnic groups.However,data on the prevalence of self-reported AR in western China are rare.This study investigated the epidemiological features of self-reported AR in western China.In the cross-sectional,population-based study,a validated questionnaire survey on self-reported AR was carried out in 4 major cities in western China by multistage,stratified and cluster sampling,from January to December 2008.The total prevalence rate was 34.3％,with 32.3％ (Chongqing),34.3％ (Chengdu),37.9％ (Urumqi),30.3％ (Nanning),respectively.The prevalence presented to increase with age before 30 years old while decrease with age after 30 years old,and the highest prevalence was in 19-30 years group in Chongqing,Chengdu and Nanning which significantly showed “persistent and moderate-severe” type (P＜0.0001); In Urumqi,there wasn't a significant increasing or decreasing trend of prevalence rate with age but with an “intermittent and mild”predominance (P＜0.0001).There were no distinct sexual differences in prevalence rates in the 4 cities.The morbidity was positively related to monthly average temperature and sunshine (r=0.76645,P=0.0036; r=0.67303,P=0.0165),but negatively associated with relative humidity (r=-0.64391,P=0.0238) in Urumqi.Interestingly,the monthly morbidity was negatively associate with average temperature,sunshine and precipitation in Nanning (r=-0.81997,P=0.0011; r=-0.60787,P=0.0360; r=-0.59443,P=0.0415).Self-reported AR is becoming common in western China with a rapid development in recent years,affecting about three persons out of ten.The climatic factors may have an indirect impact on the prevalence rate through the effects on the local allergens.