Criteria for the diagnosis of extranodal extension detected on radiological imaging in head and neck cancer: Head and Neck Cancer International Group consensus recommendations.

Extranodal extension of tumour on histopathology is known to be a negative prognostic factor in head and neck cancer. Compelling evidence suggests that extranodal extension detected on radiological imaging is also a negative prognostic factor. Furthermore, if imaging detected extranodal extension could be identified reliably before the start of treatment, it could be used to guide treatment selection, as patients might be better managed with non-surgical approaches to avoid the toxicity and cost of trimodality therapy (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy together). There are many aspects of imaging detected extranodal extension that remain unresolved or are without consensus, such as the criteria to best diagnose them and the associated terminology. The Head and Neck Cancer International Group conducted a five-round modified Delphi process with a group of 18 international radiology experts, representing 14 national clinical research groups. We generated consensus recommendations on the terminology and diagnostic criteria for imaging detected extranodal extension to harmonise clinical practice and research. These recommendations have been endorsed by 19 national and international organisations, representing 34 countries. We propose a new classification system to aid diagnosis, which was supported by most of the participating experts over existing systems, and which will require validation in the future. Additionally, we have created an online educational resource for grading imaging detected extranodal extensions.

Brown adipose tissues mediate the metabolism of branched chain amino acids during the transitioning from hyperthyroidism to euthyroidism (TRIBUTE).

Both hyperthyroidism and elevated plasma branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are associated with insulin resistance. BCAA utilization and clearance relative to thyroid status changes remains unclear. We investigate amino acids changes, specifically BCAA, during the transition from hyperthyroidism to euthyroidism, and the impact of active brown adipose tissue (BAT) on the metabolic effects of BCAA. Newly diagnosed Graves' disease participants were recruited. Hyperthyroidism was treated via a titration dosing regimen of thionamide anti-thyroid drug to establish euthyroidism over 12-24 weeks. All underwent energy expenditure (EE) measurement within a chamber calorimeter, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging and plasma amino acids measurement during hyperthyroidism and euthyroidism. PET BAT maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), SUVmean and MR supraclavicular fat fraction (FF) quantified BAT activity. Twenty-two patients completed the study. Plasma BCAA level was significantly reduced in BAT-positive but not in BAT-negative patients during the transition from hyperthyroidism to euthyroidism. Plasma valine but not leucine and isoleucine correlated positively with insulin and HOMA-IR in hyperthyroidism. Plasma valine, leucine and isoleucine correlated with insulin and HOMA-IR in euthyroidism. Plasma valine correlated with insulin and HOMA-IR in BAT-negative but not in BAT-positive participants in both hyperthyroid and euthyroid state. However, the change (i.e. decrease) in plasma valine concentration from hyperthyroid to euthyroid state was affected by BAT-status. BAT utilizes and promotes BCAA plasma clearance from hyperthyroid to euthyroid state. Active BAT can potentially reduce circulating BCAA and may help to ameliorate insulin resistance and improve metabolic health.Clinical trial registration: The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03064542.

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the larynx: an extremely rare tumour in a patient of Chinese descent.

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) of the larynx is an extremely rare tumour which, unlike its nasopharyngeal counterpart, has shown a propensity to affect elderly Caucasian men and is not commonly associated with Epstein-Barr virus. We present a 70-year-old Chinese man who complained of hoarseness and dysphagia. Nasoendoscopy revealed a left supraglottic tumour. Preoperative MRI (in particular Diffusion Weighted Imaging) showed the possibility of two distinct components within a tumour. The patient underwent total pharyngolaryngectomy and bilateral selective neck dissection. The final histology report confirmed the presence of a tumour with two distinct components: predominant LEC with a smaller conventional (keratinising) squamous cell carcinoma component. The patient recovered well after surgery and subsequently underwent adjuvant radiotherapy. Final staging was pT3 N2c M0 (AJCC stage IVA). Follow-up over 2 years revealed no tumour recurrence.

Correction to: Magnetic resonance imaging features of the superior cervical ganglion and expected changes after radiation therapy to the head and neck in a long-term follow-up.

In the article "Magnetic resonance imaging features of the superior cervical ganglion and expected changes after radiation therapy to the head and neck in a long-term follow-up", one of the author names, K Chokkappan, was spelled incorrectly.

Magnetic resonance imaging features of the superior cervical ganglion and expected changes after radiation therapy to the head and neck in a long-term follow-up.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the magnetic resonance (MRI) features of the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) and to track changes to it induced using radiotherapy across a long-term follow-up. METHODS: In total, 75 patients who underwent radiotherapy for head and neck malignancies and who were studied with MRI were recruited from two centers. MRI was performed before and after radiotherapy, with a median long-term follow-up of 4.5 years. Baseline SCG features were assessed. Changes in axial cross-sectional area, T2-normalized signal, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) (the latter available in about half of the patients) were analyzed. Repeated measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni's correction was used to analyze changes in the aforementioned parameters (significance level 0.05). RESULTS: Out of a potential 149 SCGs, 136 were visible at baseline MRI. A variable spatial relationship with the internal carotid artery was found. SCGs showed the "black dot" sign in almost all of the patients. ADC was higher in SCGs than in regional lymph nodes. Cross-sectional area, normalized T2, and ADC increased in the period up to 1 year after radiotherapy and then remained stable in subsequent longer-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: The SCG has unusual features that allow differentiation from the regional lymph nodes. Changes in morphology and signal after radiotherapy must be taken into account by radiologists to avoid misdiagnosis as recurrent nodal disease. Changes induced using radiotherapy are stable in long-term follow-up and are thus likely attributed to other factors (such as Schwann cell hypertrophy/proliferation) rather than edema.

Laryngeal gout mimicking chondrosarcoma with concurrent longus colli tendinitis.

A 42-year-old man with multiple comorbidities, including gout, presented to the emergency department with severe odynophagia for 4 days with intermittent dysphagia for 1-2 months. A CT scan of the neck showed right longus colli tendinitis and partially calcified excrescences from the right thyroid cartilage which raised suspicion of a cartilaginous tumour. He underwent an MRI scan of the neck to better evaluate the thyroid cartilage findings, which showed a heterogeneous mass suspicious for a chondroid tumour. He then underwent a positron-emission tomography-CT scan which showed a fluorodeoxyglucose-avid mass containing foci of calcification involving the right thyroid cartilage and adjacent strap muscle, with high standardised uptake value of 7.7. He subsequently underwent a CT-guided biopsy and an open biopsy of the right thyroid cartilage, and the results revealed gouty tophi. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of laryngeal gout with longus coli tendinitis, both of which are rare conditions.

Anterior maxillary wall and lacrimal duct relationship in Orientals: CT analysis for prelacrimal access to the maxillary sinus.

BACKGROUND: The pre-lacrimal window approach (PLWA) is a promising technique in approaching lesions of the anterior wall and floor of the maxillary sinus. Simmen et al. previously reported that this approach is feasible in only 2/3 of their patients. This percentage appears to be lower than that of our local (mainly Chinese) population based on our clinical experience. Our study aims to measure the distance between the anterior maxillary wall and lacrimal duct in ethnic Chinese. A higher incidence of sphenoid-ethmoidal cells has been reported in Orientals. We postulate that there is also a higher incidence of wider pre-lacrimal recesses in Orientals thus making the PLWA more feasible to perform in Orientals. METHODS: 100 consecutive sinus CT scans of adult patients with various rhinologic diseases that did not distort the bony anatomy of the maxilla were reviewed (2 sides each). The distance between the anterior maxillary wall and the anterior border of the lacrimal duct was measured in 200 sides. We have adopted the methodology of measurements previously published by Simmen et al.  This is so that we could compare between Oriental and Occidental paranasal sinuses. RESULTS: A distance of more than 7 mm was found in 39.5% of our subjects and a distance of > 3-7 mm was seen in 53.5%. In 6.5% of our subjects we found a prelacrimal recess < 3 mm. CONCLUSION: The PLWA could have been performed without removal of the bony lacrimal canal in 39.5% of our subjects ( > 7 mm). Good access to the anterior maxilla wall could also have been possible for 53.5% with sub-periosteal removal of the bony lacrimal canal and medial maxillary wall. Thus, the PLWA would have been feasible for 93% of our subjects. These percentages are significantly higher than Simmen's study of 68.5% in an Occidental population.

Accuracy of ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration cytology and significance of non-diagnostic cytology in the preoperative detection of thyroid malignancy.

INTRODUCTION: Thyroid fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is an established investigation for the preoperative evaluation of thyroid nodules and is often done under ultrasonography guidance. While its accuracy has been widely reported, there is little evidence in the literature on the approach to non-diagnostic cytology results. In our study, we aimed to determine the diagnostic performance of ultrasonography-guided thyroid FNAC for the preoperative diagnosis of thyroid cancer at our institution and evaluate the significance of a non-diagnostic thyroid FNAC. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the thyroid ultrasonography studies and medical records of all patients who underwent both thyroid FNAC and subsequent thyroid surgery at our institution from 2011 to 2013. FNAC results were correlated with the final histological diagnosis from surgery and the ultrasonography studies were reviewed for suspicious sonographic features. RESULTS: FNAC predicted malignancy with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive rate, false negative rate and total accuracy of 90.7%, 53.6%, 43.3%, 93.7%, 46.4%, 9.3% and 64.1%, respectively. We found that only one of 26 nodules with non-diagnostic FNAC results was proven malignant on a second FNAC and subsequent thyroidectomy. CONCLUSION: The accuracy of ultrasonography-guided FNAC at our institution was comparable to that reported in the literature. There appears to be very low probability of malignancy in sonographically benign nodules with initial non-diagnostic FNAC results.