Surgical removal of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) restores the defective monocyte polarization found in patients with HNSCC. Since HNSCC contain p15E-like low molecular weight factors < 25 kD (LMWF) capable of suppressing N-formyl-methionyl-leucylphenylalanine (fMLP)-induced monocyte polarization, it is likely that HNSCC removal eradicates the production site of p15E-like factors. This report describes a prospective follow-up study on the levels of bioactive p15E-like serum factors for a period of 2 years in nine patients with HNSCC who had no recurrence and 11 patients with HNSCC who showed residual or recurrent disease after treatment. In the group of patients without recurrent disease p15E-like bioactivity gradually decreased and eventually became negative. In patients with recurrent/residual disease p15E-like bioactivity remained high or even became positive before or at the time of diagnosing tumour recurrence. This study strongly supports the concept that HNSCC tumours are the production site of p15E-like immuno-suppressive factors and indicates that serum p15E-like factors may be used for future studies on early serum markers for recurrent/residual disease developing in the first year after treatment.
Tumor biopsies from 100 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) were xenografted to athymic nude mice. To ascertain whether xenograft take might be a factor of clinical significance, it was compared with patient survival, the patients being divided into two groups (take and non‐take) according to the results of transplantation. The tumor take rate was 29%. Median survival time with respect to cancer death was 18 months in the take group, as compared with over 74 months in the non‐take group (p = 0.06). No significant differences were observed between the two groups with respect to age, tumor size, nodal status, clinical stage or histological differentiation. The findings suggest that take of HNSCC xenografts in nude mice may reflect the malignant potential of the original tumor. Moreover, the possibility cannot be excluded of a selection bias favoring the use of such malignant xenografts in therapeutic studies in nude mice.
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) concentrations were determined in the sera of 45 patients with a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and of 13 controls. In 13 patients serial CEA measurements were made during the follow-up period. In 38% of the patients the serum CEA level was slightly elevated (greater than or equal to 2.5 ng/ml). Only 13% of the patients had clearly elevated CEA levels (greater than 5 ng/ml). CEA levels were significantly higher in patients with advanced, e.g. stage IV, disease but a correlation between serum CEA concentration and prognosis was not found. Patients who smoked had significantly higher serum CEA levels than non-smoking patients. In the serial determinations slight CEA elevations could be found in only 50% of patients with tumour recurrence. Combined with the data from the literature we conclude that serum CEA determination is not useful in predicting the outcome in patients with a head and neck squamous carcinoma.
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