Evaluation of Serum and Salivary IgG in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Aims: To evaluate salivary and serum IgG levels in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and healthy control subjects and to assess the effect of treatment on IgG levels. Study Design: A cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Oral Pathology and Department of Radiotherapy, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria between January 2010 and December 2010. Methodology: Seventy eight subjects comprising 30 patients with untreated HNSCC, 18 patients with HNSCC receiving treatment and 30 healthy, age and gender-matched individuals were included. Serum and salivary samples from the participants were analysed for total IgG using ELISA technique. Results: The mean serum IgG in untreated and treated HNSCC patients was significantly lower compared with healthy controls (P=.001), while mean salivary IgG was significantly elevated (P=.001) in untreated HNSCC patients compared with treated and healthy controls. There was no significant correlation between serum and salivary IgG levels. Conclusion: In patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, serum IgG was reduced while salivary IgG was elevated compared with healthy controls. Our finding suggests differential roles of immunoglobulin G in serum and saliva of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Hence, salivary IgG may be a useful biomarker in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, while serum IgG levels may be useful in monitoring treatment in these individuals.

Immunization divide: who do get vaccinated in Bangladesh?

This paper examines inequalities in the use of, and access to, vaccination service in Bangladesh by analyzing national and small area-based datasets. The analysis showed that female children had a lower immunization coverage than male children--the difference persists for all antigens and widens against girls for higher doses. The immunization coverage was higher for children whose mothers were more educated. Children whose fathers had a higher-status occupation (salaried employment) were two-and-a-half times more likely to be immunized than children whose fathers held a lower-status job, e.g. day-labourer. The coverage for the poorest quintile was 70% of the well-to-do. Children residing in urban areas were more likely to be fully immunized than their rural counterparts (70% vs 59% for children aged 12-23 months). Within urban areas, the situation in slums was worse. Large differences existed among the various administrative regions of the country. Ethnic minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts had a lower immunization coverage than the Bangalees. In Sylhet, children of non-local workers in Bangladesh-owned tea estates had a lower coverage than their counterparts in foreign-owned tea estates. The study identifies children of various disadvantaged groups as having a lower coverage. Managers of immunization programmes must realize that only through removal of such disparities among groups will overall coverage be increased. Affirmative actions in targeting could be effective in reaching such groups.