Clinical impact of hyperbaric oxygen therapy combined with steroid treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss: A case-control study.

Objectives: The aim of present study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) as a primary therapy combined with standard systemic corticosteroid treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) compared to treatment without the use of HBOT (non-HBOT) through clinical data and advanced analytical approaches. Study Design: Case-control study. Methods: Conducted across three Japanese medical centers involving 298 SSNHL patients diagnosed between 2020 and 2023. Inclusion criteria encompassed first onset and treatment, WHO grade 3 or 4 initial hearing impairment, receipt of systemic corticosteroid therapy within 14 days of symptom onset, and initiation of HBOT within the same timeframe for the case group. The primary outcome measure was the difference in hearing improvement (mean hearing level in decibels, dB) between the two groups, assessed by pure-tone audiometry at baseline and 3 months post-treatment, using the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method adjusted for covariate differences. Results: The study included 67 patients in the HBOT group and 68 in the non-HBOT group. The HBOT group exhibited significantly greater hearing improvement (IPTW-adjusted difference: 7.6 dB, 95% CI 0.4-14.7; p = 0.038). Patients without vertigo in the HBOT group demonstrated substantial hearing improvement (11.5 dB, 95% CI 2.3-20.6; p = 0.014), whereas those with vertigo showed no significant improvement (-1.8 dB, 95% CI -11.8-8.3; p = 0.729). The HBOT group also had a significantly higher association with complete recovery (IPTW-adjusted odds ratio: 2.57, 95% CI 1.13-5.85; p = 0.025). Conclusion: In SSHNL, HBOT combination therapy yielded slightly but significantly improved hearing outcomes compared to non-HBOT treatment. Level of Evidence: 4.

Novel Prognostic Score for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer patients treated with Nivolumab.

Although several prognostic factors in nivolumab therapy have been reported in recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (RM-HNC) patients, these factors remain controversial. Here, we conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study to investigate the impact of clinico-hematological factors on survival in RM-HNC patients treated with nivolumab. We reviewed 126 RM-HNC patients from seven institutes. We evaluated the prognostic effects of clinico-hematological factors on survival. The median overall survival (OS) was 12.3 months, and the 1 year-OS rate was 51.2%. Patients without immune-related adverse events, lower relative eosinophil count, worse best overall response, higher performance status, and higher modified Glasgow Prognostic Score had worse survival. The score, generated by combining these factors, was associated with survival. Patients with score of 4-5 had worse survival than those with score of 2-3 and 0-1 [adjusted HR for PFS: score of 4-5, 7.77 (3.98-15.15); score of 2-3, 3.44 (1.95-6.06), compared to score of 0-1], [adjusted HR for OS: score of 4-5, 14.66 (4.28-50.22); score of 2-3, 7.63 (2.29-25.37), compared to score of 0-1]. Our novel prognostic score utilizing clinico-hematological factors might be useful to establish an individual treatment strategy in RM-HNC patients treated with nivolumab therapy.

Functional Nerve Preservation in Extracranial Head and Neck Schwannoma Surgery.

IMPORTANCE: A schwannoma is an uncommon, benign neurogenic tumor of Schwann cells. Tumor enucleation is the recommended surgical method to preserve function of the original nerve, although enucleation does not guarantee completely intact nerve function after the operation. OBJECTIVE: To establish a strategy for functional preservation in extracranial head and neck schwannoma treatment by using an electromyographic (EMG) system during tumor resection. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 15 patients who underwent surgery for removal of schwannoma tumors between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2015, at an academic tertiary referral center. Data analysis was conducted from April 3, 2006, to September 15, 2015. Neurogenic tumors were diagnosed according to preoperative findings, and during surgery tumors were exposed and given EMG-controlled electrical stimulation to analyze their origins. In motor nerve cases, the electrical activity of the muscle was measured and recorded by EMG. The tumor was then enucleated by incision along tumor fibers mapped using EMG stimulation. If a nerve bundle was visible, we incised along there and enucleated the tumor. INTERVENTIONS: A strategy using electrical stimulation to improve preservation of nerve function in extracranial head and neck schwannoma operations. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Frequency and duration of postoperative neurologic complications associated with functional preservation surgery with tumor enucleation was evaluated using EMG monitoring according to tumor origin. RESULTS: Of the 15 patients with extracranial schwannoma, 9 (60%) were women (mean [SD] age, 36.3 [15.3] years). All 15 patients underwent surgery using a transcervical approach. The most common nerves of origin were the vagus nerve and the sympathetic chain. In sensory or sympathetic nerve cases, the EMG response was absent. Two of 5 patients with vagus schwannoma had postoperative temporary vocal nerve palsy. These symptoms showed improvement after 1 year. There was no tumor recurrence during the follow-up period in any patient. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The strategy used here demonstrated a method of diagnosis and nerve preservation surgery for extracranial schwannomas. Nerve functionality was preserved in all vagus schwannoma cases. However, preservation of nerve function in sympathetic nerve schwannoma cases remains problematic and needs further investigation.

Efficacy of gemcitabine and cetuximab combination treatment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) may be curable with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy in its early stages. However, recurrence and metastasis often prevail following primary treatment in advanced stage cases and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In this study we investigated the combination therapy of gemcitabine and cetuximab for HNSCC. The UM-SCC-6 and UM-SCC-23 HNSCC cell lines were analyzed following treatment with gemcitabine and cetuximab. To determine the mechanism of action of this combination treatment, the cell cycle distributions following gemcitabine and/or cetuximab treatment were analyzed by flow cytometry and apoptosis assay. Gemcitabine and cetuximab combination treatment exerted an enhanced cytotoxic effect. The cell cycle analysis demonstrated that cells accumulated in the S phase following gemcitabine treatment and G1 arrest occurred following cetuximab treatment. An increase in sub-G1 phase cells was also observed following treatment with the two drugs. In an apoptosis assay, caspase 3/7 activity was found to be higher when administering a combination of gemcitabine and cetuximab compared to each agent administered alone. Gemcitabine and cetuximab are individually effective against HNSCC and an enhanced growth inhibitory effect may be expected when these agents are used in combination.

Positive and negative regulation of podoplanin expression by TGF-ß and histone deacetylase inhibitors in oral and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.

OBJECTIVES: Podoplanin, a transmembrane sialomucin-like glycoprotein, is known to express at high frequency in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) and possess metastasis-promoting activity such as increased invasion and platelet-aggregating activity. However, the regulatory mechanism of podoplanin expression in OSCC remains unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, we investigated the podoplanin expression in both clinical specimens from total 80 patients (50 OSCC and 30 pharyngeal SCC) and in 4 OSCC cell lines in vitro. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis of surgically resected specimens of OSCC revealed podoplanin expression in 70% of OSCC cases with localization primarily in the basal layer of squamous cancer nest and the expression was inversely correlated with squamous cell differentiation. In vitro analysis of OSCC cell lines revealed 36 that podoplanin expression was decreased in response to the squamous cell differentiation (Cytokeratin 10 expression as a marker) induced by treatment with histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors such as sodium butyrate and trichostatin. Furthermore, transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) significantly enhanced podoplanin expression in OSCC cell lines in line with increased phosphorylation of Smad2. A TGF-ß type I receptor inhibitor (SB431542) significantly inhibited such induction of podoplanin expression by TGF-ß at both the protein and mRNA level. However, in a subset of OSCC cell line, its expression was only weakly dependent on TGF-ß and squamous differentiation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that regulation of podoplanin is not simple, but in the majority of OSCC cell lines, its expression is positively and negatively regulated by TGF-ß receptor/Smad signaling pathway and epigenetic mechanism leading to squamous differentiation, respectively.