The presence of IL-1 in human cancers is associated with aggressive tumor biology but its prognostic value is unknown. We studied whether IL-1α expression is a prognostic marker of distant metastasis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). IL-1α mRNA and protein levels were determined in tumor samples and cancer cell lines using RT-PCR and ELISA. The effects of constitutive IL-1α expression by tumor lines were characterized. IL-1α mRNA and protein secretion were higher in tumor samples from patients who later developed distant metastasis than in patients who did not. By using distant metastasis as a dependent variable, patients were classified into two categories of IL-1α transcript-levels. The high-IL-1α group had a significantly lower five-year distant metastasis-free survival than the low-IL-1α group [70.0% (CI 95%: 55.9-84.1%) vs 94.7% (CI 95%:90.2-99.2%)]. When IL-1α transcript-levels were combined with clinical factors related to tumor metastasis, the predictive power of the model increased significantly. Additionally, transcript levels of IL-1α correlated significantly with those of the IL-1 family genes and genes related to the metastatic process. IL-1 treatment of microvascular endothelial cells increased adhesion of HNSCC cells but no differences were found based on constitutive IL-1α expression by tumor cells. Nevertheless, IL-1α produced by tumor cells effectively increased their transmigration across the endothelium. We found a significant relationship between IL-1α expression and development of distant metastasis in HNSCC patients. IL-1α expression could help to define a subset of patients at high risk of distant metastasis who could benefit from adjuvant treatment.
Introduction Parotid gland incidentalomas (PGIs) are unexpected hypermetabolic foci in the parotid region that can be found when scanning with whole-body positron emission/computed tomography (PET/CT). These deposits are most commonly due to benign lesions such as Warthin tumor.
Objective The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of PGIs identified in PET/CT scans and to assess the role of smoking in their etiology.
Methods We retrospectively reviewed all PET/CT scans performed at our center in search of PGIs and identified smoking status and standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in each case. We also analyzed the database of parotidectomies performed in our department in the previous 10 years and focused on the pathologic diagnosis and the presence or absence of smoking in each case.
Results Sixteen cases of PGIs were found in 4,250 PET/CT scans, accounting for 0.4%. The average SUVmax was 6.5 (range 2.8 to 16). Cytology was performed in five patients; it was benign in four cases and inconclusive in one case. Thirteen patients had a history of smoking. Of the parotidectomies performed in our center with a diagnosis of Warthin tumor, we identified a history of smoking in 93.8% of those patients.
Conclusions The prevalence of PGIs on PET/CT was similar to that reported by other authors. Warthin tumor is frequently diagnosed among PGIs on PET/CT, and it has a strong relationship with smoking. We suggest that a diagnosis other than Warthin tumor should be considered for PGIs in nonsmokers.
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