Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is characterized by the inv12(q13q13)-derived NAB2-STAT6 fusion, which exhibits variable breakpoints and drives STAT6 nuclear expression. The implications of NAB2-STAT6 fusion variants in pathological features and clinical behavior remain to be characterized in a large cohort of SFTs. We investigated the clinicopathological correlates of this genetic hallmark and analyzed STAT6 immunoexpression in 28 intrathoracic, 37 extrathoracic, and 23 meningeal SFTs. These 88 tumors were designated as histologically nonmalignant in 75 cases and malignant in 13, including 1 dedifferentiated SFT. Eighty cases had formalin-fixed and/or fresh samples to extract assessable RNAs for RT-PCR assay, which revealed NAB2-STAT6 fusion variants comprising 12 types of junction breakpoints in 73 fusion-positive cases, with 65 (89%) falling into 3 major types. The predominant NAB2ex4-STAT6ex2 (n = 33) showed constant breakpoints at the ends of involved exons, whereas the NAB2ex6-STAT6ex16 (n = 16) and NAB2ex6-STAT6ex17 (n = 16) might exhibit variable breakpoints and incorporate NAB2 or STAT6 intronic sequence. Including 73 fusion-positive and 7 CD34-negative SFTs, STAT6 distinctively labeled 87 (99%) SFTs in nuclei, exhibited diffuse reactivity in 73, but did not decorate 98 mimics tested. In seven fusion-negative cases, 6 were STAT6-positive, suggesting rare fusion variants not covered by RT-PCR assay. Regardless of histological subtypes, intrathoracic SFTs affected older patients (P = 0.035) and tended to be larger in size (P = 0.073). Compared with other variants, NAB2ex4-STAT6ex2/4 fusions were significantly predominant in the SFTs characterised by intrathoracic location (Po 0.001), older age (P = 0.005), decreased mitoses (P = 0.0028), and multifocal or diffuse STAT6 staining (P = 0.013), but not found to correlate with disease-free survival. Conclusively, STAT6 nuclear expression was distinctive in the vast majority of SFTs, including all fusion-positive tumors, and exploitable as a robust diagnostics of CD34-negative cases. Despite the associations of NAB2-STAT6 fusion variants with several clincopathological factors, their prognostic relevance should be further validated in large-scale prospective studies of SFTs.

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By means of measurement over a period of time, it was found that patients with nasopharyngeal cancer had a mean decrease in initial interincisal distance of 32% at 4 years after radiotherapy. The trismus process evolved at different rates. It was rapid at 1 to 9 months after radiation therapy, then became slower and protracted over later years.

BackgroundWith the advances in modern radiotherapy (RT), many patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) can be effectively cured, and their health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) has become an important issue. In this study, we evaluated the prognosticators of HR-QoL in a large cohort of HNC patients, with a focus on the result from technological advances in RT.MethodsA cross-sectional investigation was conducted to assess the HR-QoL of 640 HNC patients with cancer-free survival of more than 2 years. Among them, 371 patients were treated by two-dimensional RT (2DRT), 127 by three-dimensional conformal RT (3DCRT), and 142 by intensity-modulated RT (IMRT). The EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and QLQ-H&N35 module were used. A general linear model multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the prognosticators of HR-QoL.ResultsBy multivariate analysis, the variables of gender, annual family income, tumor site, AJCC stage, treatment methods, and RT technique were prognosticators for QLQ-C30 results, so were tumor site and RT technique for H&N35. Significant difference (p < 0.05) of HR-QoL outcome by different RT techniques was observed at 2 of the 15 scales in QLQ-C30 and 10 of the 13 scales in H&N35. Compared with 2DRT, IMRT had significant better outcome in the scales of global QoL, physical functioning, swallowing, senses (taste/smell), speech, social eating, social contact, teeth, opening mouth, dry mouth, sticky saliva, and feeling ill.ConclusionsThe technological advance of RT substantially improves the head-and-neck related symptoms and broad aspects of HR-QoL for HNC survivors.

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ObjectiveWe aimed to assess psychiatric morbidities of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) in a prospective study at pretreatment, and 3 and 6 months after treatment, and to compare their health-related quality of life (HRQL) between those with and without depressive disorders (depression).Materials and methodsPatients with newly diagnosed HNC from a tertiary hospital were recruited into the study. They were assessed for psychiatric morbidities using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. Their HRQL was simultaneously evaluated using the quality of life questionnaire of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer with a specific module for head and neck cancer; and depressed and nondepressed HNC patients were compared by using the generalized mixed-effect model for repeated measurements.ResultsA total of 106 patients were recruited into this study. High rates of anxiety were found at pretreatment, but steadily declined over time (from 27.3% to 6.4%, and later 3.3%). A skew pattern of depression was observed, with prevalence rates from 8.5% at pretreatment to 24.5% and 14% at 3 and 6 months, respectively, after treatment. We found that loss of sense (P=0.001), loss of speech (P<0.001), low libido (P=0.001), dry mouth (P<0.001), and weight loss (P=0.001) were related to depression over time. The depressed patients had a higher consumption of painkillers (P=0.001) and nutrition supplements (P<0.001). The results showed that depression was predicted by sticky saliva (P<0.001) and trouble with social contact (P<0.001) at 3 months, and trouble with social eating (P<0.001) at 6 months.ConclusionPatients with HNC experienced different changes in anxiety and depression in the first 6 months of treatment. Dysfunction in salivation, problems with eating, and problems with social contacts were major risk factors for depression.

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BACKGROUND Accumulating reports suggest that quality of life (QoL) may predict survival in patients with malignant disease. In the current study, the authors investigated if baseline QoL and changes in QoL during treatment were prognostic for patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with radiotherapy. METHODS The authors studied 102 consecutive new patients with HNSCC treated with primary radiotherapy. The Taiwan Chinese versions of the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30) and Head and Neck Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐H&N35) were completed before and during radiotherapy. The Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the impact of clinical and QoL variables on survival. RESULTS Clinical variables that were significant survival predictors included American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, N status, and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) after multivariate analysis. After introducing the QoL variables, baseline fatigue scale and N status emerged as the most significant survival predictors, whereas KPS lost its significance. Changes in the QoL scales during radiotherapy were not significantly correlated with survival. An increase in the baseline fatigue score of 10 points corresponded to a 17% reduction in the likelihood of survival (95% confidence interval: 8–27%). Significant correlations between baseline fatigue scale and KPS, comorbidity, hemoglobin level, AJCC stage, T status, and most QoL scales also were observed. CONCLUSIONS The data support the correlation of patient reported QoL scales with survival. Pretreatment fatigue level was a significant survival predictor for patients with advanced HNSCC treated with radiotherapy. Cancer 2004;100:425–32. © 2003 American Cancer Society.