Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the preoperative systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and to establish a nomogram for prediction of survival of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) patients who underwent primary surgery and cervical dissection.Methods: 120 patients diagnosed with TSCC who underwent primary tumor and neck dissection without preoperative treatment were included to develop the nomogram. This model was externally validated in an independent data cohort of 50 TSCC patients. X-tile software was used to identify the optimal cut-off value. Prognostic factors were identified by Univariate and multivariate analyses. A nomogram based on the multivariate analysis results was built to predict the survival rate and calibration curves and concordance index (C-index) were used to determine predictive and discriminatory capacity.Results: The optimal cut-off value was 569×10 9 /L for SII. In the training cohort, a high preoperative SII (>569) was significantly related to tumor size, histological grade, depth of invasion, lymph node density (LND). A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with a lower SII had a significantly better 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) than patients with high SII (80.8% vs. 43.5% and 72.7% vs. 36.2%, respectively, P<0.001). Univariate analyses of training cohort revealed that age, clinical stage, depth of invasion, LND, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and SII were significant prognostic factors for OS. Moreover, the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve showed that SII was superior to NLR and PLR for predicting clinical outcomes. However, multivariate analysis found that age, LND, and SII were independent risk factors for OS. The C-index of the nomograms based on independent prognostic factors was 0.716 for OS and 0.723 for DFS. The C-indexes for external validation of OS and DFS were 0.852 and 0.754, respectively. The calibration curves showed good agreement between predicted and actual observations of OS and DFS. Lu et al. SII Predict Survival of TSCCConclusion: SII can serve as a novel independent prognostic factor for OS and DFS of patients with TSCC. The prognostic nomogram based on SII is a reliable model for predicting survival of patients with TSCC after surgery.

Mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO) effectively improves airway obstruction in Pierre Robin syndrome (PRS) patients. However, whether or not early MDO is beneficial to the development of children is still controversial. To observe the influence of PRS patient age at the time of MDO on their development, the authors retrospectively analyzed preoperative and postoperative body weight in 41 children with PRS who underwent MDO treatment from 2014 to 2016. The body weight of the infants at the time of birth, first visit, MDO surgery, distractor removal, and palatoplasty surgery was recorded. The body weight percentile significantly fell from 34.4 ± 5.8 at birth to 13.1 ± 3.6 at the time of MDO (P < 0.001), and increased to 28.3 ± 5.3 at distractor removal (P < 0.05) following MDO, finally reaching 42.4 ± 6.5 at palatoplasty surgery (P < 0.001). The infants who accepted MDO treatment at <1 month of age maintained a significantly higher body weight percentile than those who accepted MDO surgery at 1 to 3 months or 4 to 7 months of age, at the time of both MDO and palatoplasty surgeries (P < 0.05). After the MDO procedure, the body weight percentiles of the PRS infants with a cleft palate were comparable to those without a cleft palate at the time of palatoplasty surgery. The body weight percentile quickly climbed to 74.0 ± 35.2 at the time of distractor removal, from 46.7 ± 18.2 at the time of MDO. In conclusion, early MDO was beneficial in severe cases of PRS for patients to recover body weight and to allow for earlier palatoplasty surgery.

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Introduction: CircRNAs are engaged in the tumorigenesis and progression of oral squamous cancer cells (OSCC). However, the function and underlying mechanism of circRNAs on tumor-associated immunity escape are largely unknown. Materials and methods: We analyzed the expression pattern of has_circ_0069313 in our in-house database and its correlation with OSCC prognosis. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detected PDL1 expression. RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization was applied to detect subcellular location of circRNA. A luciferase activity assay was used to detect the interaction of has_circ_0069313 and miR-325-3p and its downstream target, Foxp3. Exosomes were collected to detect the exosomal circRNAs and co-culture assays were performed to detect the function of exosomal circRNAs on Tregs. Results: has_circ_0069313 was upregulated in OSCC tissues and predicts poor prognosis. has_circ_0069313 promotes immunity escape through inhibiting miR-325-3p-induced Foxp3 degradation. has_circ_0069313 is an exosomal circRNA and the transfer of has_circ_0069313 to Treg cells promotes the Treg function through maintaining Foxp3 levels. Conclusion: Our results indicate that has_circ_0069313 induces OSCC immunity escape via the miR-325-3p-Foxp3 axis in both OSCC cells and Treg cells.

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ObjectiveThis study was to investigate the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) gene in healthy residents of Guangdong Province, China, for further analysis of their associations with the development of cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P).MethodologyDNA was extracted from blood samples of 13 healthy residents. IRF6 genes were sequenced and analyzed by alignment to the reference sequences in GenBank.ResultsThe IRF6 genes containing 45.21% GC were 25016–25046 bp in length, and had 2215-bp exons and a 1404-bp coding region. There were 65 SNPs, including 58 SNPs in the 5′-untranslated region or introns and 7 SNPs in the exons. These sites had two alleles, including 39 transition sites and 26 transversion sites. Five novel SNPs were identified. c. 459G>T and c. 820G>A in the coding region represented silent and Val274Ile mutations, respectively. The SNPs made two sequences (GenBank HQ875393 and JF346417).ConclusionsThe sequences and SNP profiles of the IRF6 gene in healthy residents of Guangdong Province are consistent with the one in GenBank but with slight variations. Our findings form a basis for further investigation of the association between IRF6 gene polymorphisms and CL/P in residents of Guangdong Province.