Fibrinogen-to-lymphocyte Ratio Predicts the Outcomes of Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Treated With Definitive Radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Previous studies have identified several inflammatory biomarkers that are useful as prognostic biomarkers for various cancer types. However, the fibrinogen-to-lymphocyte ratio (FLR) has not been addressed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Here, we aimed to examine the value of pretreatment FLR as a prognostic marker in patients who received definitive radiotherapy for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HpSCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 95 patients treated with definitive radiotherapy for HpSCC between 2013 and 2020. The prognostic factors for progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival were identified. RESULTS: The optimal cut-off value of pretreatment FLR for discriminating PFS was 2.46. Based on this value, 57 and 38 patients were classified into groups with high and low FLR, respectively. A high FLR was significantly associated with advanced local disease and overall stage, and with the development of synchronous second primary cancer compared with a low FLR. The high FLR group had significantly lower PFS and OS rates than the low FLR group. Multivariate analysis showed that having a high pretreatment FLR was an independent prognostic factor for poorer PFS and OS [PFS: hazard ratio (HR)=2.14, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.09-4.19, p=0.026; OS: HR=2.86, 95% CI=1.14-7.20, p=0.024]. CONCLUSION: The FLR has a clinical effect on PFS and OS in patients with HpSCC, suggesting that it has potential application as a prognostic factor for patients with HpSCC.

A first case report of nasopharyngeal Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies massiliense infection.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies massiliense is a non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis and was subdivided from Mycobacterium abscessus in 2006. This article is the first report on nasopharyngitis caused by Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies massiliense. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old woman had an 18-month history of recurrent nasopharyngitis and presented with pain in the throat. Mycobacterial tissue culture and polymerase chain reaction testing revealed the presence of Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies massiliense in the nasopharyngeal tissue. This patient underwent surgery, followed by multiple rounds of chemotherapy with oral and intravenous antibiotic agents for 16 weeks. She has had no recurrence during the 56 weeks since treatment. CONCLUSION: It is difficult to detect the presence of Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies massiliense in a culture from the swabbing sample. The tissue culture from a biopsy specimen is mandatory for the identification of the species. Currently, no definite treatment policy is available and only empirical treatment is applied. This case is an important for the diagnosis and treatment of this bacterial infection on nasopharynx.

Intraductal Carcinoma of the Parotid Gland Presenting as Parapharyngeal Mass.

Intraductal carcinomas are rare, malignant tumors that arise from the salivary glands. They commonly grow from the parotid gland and no cases growing from the parapharyngeal space have been reported to date. We report a 76-year-old man who was inadvertently found to have a parapharyngeal lesion by CT scans and MR imaging. The tumor was resected through an upper neck approach and diagnosed histopathologically as intraductal carcinoma. As far as we are aware, this is the first case of intraductal carcinoma arising from the parapharyngeal space. Here, we describe the management of this disease together with a review of the relevant literature.