Immunohistochemical Analysis of the Expression of Cytokeratins in Acquired Cholesteatoma and Its Clinico-Radiological Correlation

Background and Objectives@#Cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media acquires epithelial proliferation and differentiation characteristics, which render it able to erode the underlying bone and cause complications. We attempt to characterize the cholesteatoma epithelium by observing the expression of cytokeratins (such as 34ße12, CK17, and CK13) and Ki67 among patients with cholesteatoma with different aggressiveness as compared to disease-free controls. @*Subjects and Methods@#In this prospective study (2017-2021), we enrolled all consenting consecutive patients with cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media. They were staged in accordance with the staging guidelines of the European Academy of Otology and Neurotology and the Japanese Otological Society. Bony external auditory canal (EAC) skin specimens of the patients undergoing tympanoplasty were chosen as controls. We did an immunohistochemical analysis of the cholesteatoma specimens and normal bony EAC controls by observing the expression of 34ße12, CK17, CK13, and Ki67 across the layers of the epithelium. Fisher’s exact test and chi-square test were used to evaluate any statistical significance between the cases and the controls, and the subgroups were made based on the clinical stage. @*Results@#An increased expression of CK17 (p<0.001), CK13 (p<0.03), and Ki67 (p<0.001) was observed in cholesteatoma specimens when compared to normal bony EAC controls. Also, there was a loss of expression of 34ße12 in a subset of cholesteatoma specimens, all of which showed full-thickness expression of CK13. There was no difference in the expression of cytokeratin among specimens from patients belonging to different subgroups based on clinical stage, age, sex, duration of ear symptoms, or type of hearing loss (conductive vs. sensorineural). @*Conclusions@#The majority of cholesteatoma specimens significantly overexpressed CK17, CK13, and Ki67 when compared to normal bony EAC skin controls, while a subset showed loss of expression of 34ße12, which provides some insight into its pathogenesis.

Serum Survivin in Oral Submucosal Fibrosis and Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis protein is a biomarker of significance in prognostication of many malignancies. In the current study we investigated the serum survivin levels in patients with oral submucosal fibrosis (OSMF) and squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Serum was isolated from, peripheral blood collected of clinically and histopathologically confirmed OSMF and OSCC patients. Circulating level of survivin was measured in patients and control subjects by ELISA and analyzed further using Kruskal-Wallis test and two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test. Serum Survivin levels were significantly reduced in the OSCC group as compared to the control group. No significant correlation was noted between the serum survivin level and various clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC and OSMF patients. Our study suggests that free, wild form of circulating survivin probably has no role in predicting the prognosis of oral cancer or the malignant transformation potential of oral submucosal fibrosis.

Hazardous giant pharyngoesophageal liposarcoma.

A man in his early 80s presented to the otorhinolaryngology department with progressively worsening dysphagia to solids and a recent episode of difficulty breathing accompanied by a very brief expulsion of a solid mass from the mouth. Based on the endoscopic appearance of a fatty lesion of an elongated mass with a thick stalk on the posterior pharyngeal wall, a diagnosis of the benign fibrovascular polyp was given after clinical and radiological correlation. The pharyngeal polyp was resected at the base of its pedicle by transoral endoscopy with a thunder beat vessel sealing device. Histopathological examination of the mass revealed a well-differentiated liposarcoma composed of mature adipocytes. Following surgical excision, the patient made a full recovery. This case signifies the integrated role of preoperative biopsy, new surgical technologies and targeted therapies in managing pharyngoesophageal polyps.

Secretory cervical schwannoma: first of its kind.

Schwannomas arising from cervical sympathetic chain are rare benign neoplasms which are slow growing, usually asymptomatic, biochemically non-secretory and functionally inactive tumours. We present a case of secretory schwannoma arising from the cervical sympathetic chain, causing hypertension and associated with raised urinary catecholamine degradation by-products. Transcervical excision of the tumour was followed by normalisation of blood pressure and urinary vanillylmandelic acid levels and pathologically the tumour was proved to be a schwannoma.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica: awareness is the key for diagnosis and management.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica is a rare airway disease of unknown aetiology. Due to overlapping symptomology and lack of awareness, the condition is often missed resulting in unnecessary medical or surgical treatment. A male patient presented with a long-standing history of hoarseness and had earlier received treatment for bronchial asthma and tuberculosis. On evaluation, he had typical submucosal calcified nodules distributed throughout the trachea sparing the posterior membranous part. Although the biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica in our case, histopathological examination is not always needed to make this diagnosis. Our patient has been kept under conservative management and is having non-progression of disease at 1-year follow-up. After having reviewed the literature related to pathophysiology and management of tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica, we emphasise on the fact that the treating physicians' awareness about this condition is the key to its diagnosis and management.