Clinical characteristics of subglottic cancer: emphasis on therapeutic management strategies for stage II subglottic cancer*

Abstract

Background: Subglottic cancer (SGC) is extremely rare, as most laryngeal cancers are localized to the glottic region. Accordingly, the clinical characteristics of SGC have not been well characterized.

Objectives: In the current study, SGCs were clinically evaluated, and the outcomes of radiotherapy (RT) in patients with stage II SGC were assessed.

Materials and Methods: Medical data derived from 11 patients with SGC, who were treated at our hospital between 1995 and 2019, were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: In our department SGC accounted for 3.9% of the 280 laryngeal cancer patients treated during the study period. At the time of SGC diagnosis, 9 (81.8%) had stage II cancer, 1 had stage III cancer, and 1 had stage IV cancer. Stage II SGC patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) showed a significantly higher local control rate (p?=?.026) and laryngeal dysfunction free rate (p?=?.026) than those treated with RT alone. Salvage surgery, performed in 4 patients whose disease was not locally controlled with CCRT/RT, was successful in 3 patients.

Conclusion: As a treatment strategy for stage II SGC, CCRT is an acceptable initial treatment for laryngeal function and preservation while salvage surgery is effective for recurrence after CCRT/RT treatment.     

Integrin α11 in non–small cell lung cancer is associated with tumor progression and postoperative recurrence

Integrins are transmembrane proteins that mediate cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix. Integrin α11 (ITGA11) is not expressed in normal alveolar epithelial cells and is a known receptor for collagen. While integrin α11β1 overexpression in the tumor stroma has been associated with tumor growth and metastatic potential of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), little is known about the role of ITGA11 in tumor cells. Thus, we examined the RNA expression of ITGA11 by quantitative RT‐PCR in 80 samples collected from NSCLC patients who had undergone surgical resection and analyzed the clinical outcomes. We found that high expression of ITGA11 was associated with lower recurrence‐free survival in all NSCLC patients (P = 0.043) and in stage I NSCLC patients (P = 0.049). These results were consistent with in silico analyses of the Cancer Genome Atlas database. We also analyzed cell proliferation, migration and invasion capacity in lung cancer cell lines after overexpression of ITGA11. Overexpression of ITGA11 in lung cancer cell lines had little effect on cell proliferation but resulted in increased migration and invasion capacity. Our findings suggest that ITGA11 plays a significant role in cancer migration and invasion, leading to higher recurrence. ITGA11 expression may be a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with surgically resected NSCLC.     

Transplantation of Bioengineered Lungs Created From Recipient-Derived Cells Into a Large Animal Model

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A newly developed method for taking pictures of tooth crown cracks for clinical records

It is very important to examine fine cracks on the crown surface of traumatized tooth in the dental clinic because the presence of these cracks may cause discomfort or hypersensitivity of the tooth. By the emission of routinely used light, it is difficult to illuminate cracks, and the usual intraoral photography using strobe light emission is not useful to make records of cracks in most cases. In the present study, a method for taking pictures to record tooth crown cracks was newly developed using LED as a light source, and applied to patients with traumatized teeth in the dental clinic. The results were as follows: 1. Cracks on the tooth surface could be confirmed with the LEDs of all the colors used in this study. However, the blue LED enabled cracks in the incisal edge part to be more easily confirmed, and the white LED enabled cracks in the cervical part to be more easily confirmed. 2. Cracks of multiple modalities on the tooth surface was illuminated more often when the LED light was emitted at 45 degrees to the axis of the tooth than 90 degrees. 3. The light exposure field became wider by the use of the LED of diameter 5 mm than that of diameter 3 mm. However, the LED of diameter 3 mm was more favorable than that of diameter 5 mm for the observation of the cracks because the former could more easily change the direction of light emission.     

TRPV2 Promotes Cell Migration and Invasion in Gastric Cancer via the Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling Pathway

Annals of Surgical Oncology - Transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) is a highly Ca2+-permeable ion channel that is involved in a number of cellular processes. It is expressed in various...