BACKGROUNDCigarette smoke has been identified as the main cause of oral cavity carcinoma. Recently, the electronic cigarette, a battery-operated device, was developed to help smokers stop their tobacco addiction. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of electronic cigarettes and to establish the possible role of such device in the primary prevention of oral cavity cancer.SUBJECTS AND METHODSThis study included 65 subjects who were divided into three groups (smokers, e-cigarette smokers, and nonsmokers). All subjects were submitted to cytologic examination by scraping of oral mucosa. The slides were microscopically evaluated through a micronucleus assay test.RESULTSThe prevalence of micronuclei was significantly decreased in the e-cigarette smoker group. There were no statistically significant differences in micronuclei distribution according to the type of cigarette, gender, and age.CONCLUSIONSThe use of electronic cigarettes seems to be safe for oral cells and should be suggested as an aid to smoking cessation.

A uniform treatment for PCOS patients does not exist. Clinicians should perform an accurate evaluation of patients' characteristics, identifying the phenotypic target and, subsequently, the best-tailored treatment to manage one or more clinical issues. Lifestyle intervention should always be the first recommended approach unless other issues indicate that drug or hormonal interventions are superior.

Introduction. Clinical staging is the most important time in management of glottic cancer in early stage (I-II). We have conducted a prospective study to evaluate if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is more accurate than computed tomography (CT) about tumoral extension, to exactly choose the most appropriate surgical approach, from organ preservation surgery to demolitive surgery. Materials and Methods. This prospective study was conducted on 26 male patients, with suspected laryngeal neoplasia of glottic region. The images of MRI and CT were analyzed to define the expansion of glottic lesion to anterior commissure, laryngeal cartilages, subglottic and/or supraglottic site, and paraglottic space. The results of MRI and CT were compared with each other and with the pathology report. Results. CT accuracy was 70% with low sensitivity but with high specific value. MRI showed a diagnostic accuracy in 80% of cases, with a sensitivity of 100% and high specificity. Statistical analysis showed that MRI has higher correlation than CT with the pathology report. Conclusion. Our study showed that MRI is more sensitive than CT in the preoperative staging of early glottic cancer, to select exactly the eligible patients in conservative surgery of the larynx, as supracricoid laryngectomy and cordectomy by CO2 laser.

Emerging studies show that BMI1 (B cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1) has an important function as a biomarker of cancer stem cells (CSCs), i.e. cells with self-renewal characteristics, capable of tumor initiation, progression, invasion, metastasis, tumor recurrence and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The failure of current anticancer therapies can be attributed to the relative ineffectiveness of drug and radiation treatments on CSCs, thereby preserving the full capacity of the cells to reproduce tumors. The development of new strategies is currently hindered by the lack of reliable markers for the identification of these CSCs. At present, they have been isolated from solid tumors at various locations using a variety of surface markers, including CD34, CD133, CD24, CD44, CD29 and CD31, in addition to the methods of isolation and cell culture via the Wnt, BMI1, Notch and Hedgehog pathways. The discovery of specific tumor targets for CSCs would constitute a big step in the research for the definitive therapy against cancer. More studies are being conducted that consider the role of CSCs in head and neck cancers with potential for an impact on clinical-surgical outcomes from the knowledge that is being gained. A promising intracellular marker of CSCs in head and neck cancer is the oncoprotein BMI1, with specific data about its prognostic value based on the specific location.