The field of otolaryngology has one of the lowest rates of racial and ethnic diversity. An anonymous survey was distributed to members of the Student National Medical Association at different medical schools to identify factors that may contribute to this disparity. Responses were received from 104 students at 36 allopathic medical schools. Most respondents identified as black (86.5%). One-third of students (34.6%) noted that they were discouraged from pursuing otolaryngology due to lack of mentorship, and among these students, most noted that they lack mentors of the same race (75%). One-fourth of respondents (25%) indicated that they lack a home otolaryngology program. The most common reasons for participants’ disinterest in otolaryngology included competitiveness, inadequate exposure, research, and the high board scores needed to match. This hypothesis-generating, proof-of-concept study highlights potential barriers that may discourage underrepresented medical students from pursuing a career in otolaryngology.

SUMMARYThe assembly and maintenance of actin-based mechanosensitive stereocilia in the cochlea is critical for lifelong hearing. Myosin-15 (MYO15) is hypothesized to modulate stereocilia height by trafficking actin regulatory proteins to their tip compartments, where actin polymerization must be precisely controlled during development. We identified a mutation (p.D1647G) in the MYO15 motor-domain that initially maintained trafficking, but caused progressive hearing loss by stunting stereocilia growth, revealing an additional function for MYO15. Consistent with its maintenance of tip trafficking in vivo, purified p.D1647G MYO15 modestly reduced actin-stimulated ATPase activity in vitro. Using ensemble and single-filament fluorescence in vitro assays, we demonstrated that wild-type MYO15 directly accelerated actin filament polymerization by driving nucleation, whilst p.D1647G MYO15 blocked this activity. Collectively, our studies suggest direct actin nucleation by MYO15 at the stereocilia tip is necessary for elongation in vivo, and that this is a primary mechanism disrupted in DFNB3 hereditary human hearing loss.

NrCAM is expressed by several neural and sensory epithelial subtypes within the developing cochlea, and the loss of Nrcam confers numerous, but nonpermanent, developmental defects in innervation and sensory domain patterning. Developmental Dynamics 247:934-950, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of ICD-O-3–classified local tumor behavior as a prognosticator of head and neck paraganglioma (HNP) outcomes. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting National Cancer Database between 2004 and 2016. Methods This study included patients aged ≥18 years who were diagnosed with HNP. Clinical outcomes and clinicopathologic features were compared with regard to local tumor behavior. Results Our study included 525 patients, of which the majority had HNP classified as locally invasive (45.9%) or borderline (37.9%). The most common anatomic sites involved were the carotid body (33.7%), intracranial regions (29.0%), or cranial nerves (25.5%). Carotid body tumors were exclusively locally invasive, whereas intracranial and cranial nerve HNP were overwhelmingly benign or borderline (94% and 91%, respectively). One-fourth of patients underwent pathologic analysis of regional lymph nodes, of which the majority were positive for metastasis (80.6%). Metastasis to distant organs was twice as common in patients with locally invasive tumors vs benign (15% vs 7.1). For benign disease, surgery with radiotherapy (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 40.45; P = .006) and active surveillance (aHR, 24.23; P = .008) were associated with worse survival when compared with surgery alone. For locally invasive tumors, greater age (aHR, 1.07; P < .0001) and positive surgical margins (aHR, 4.13; P = .010) were predictors of worse survival, while combined surgery and radiotherapy were predictors of improved survival vs surgery alone (aHR, 0.31; P = .027). Conclusion While criteria for tumor behavior could not be defined, our results suggest that such a classification system could be used to enhance HNP risk stratification and guide clinical management decisions.