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HOX genes are master regulators of organ morphogenesis and cell differentiation during embryonic development, and continue to be expressed throughout post-natal life. To test the hypothesis that HOX genes are dysregulated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) we defined their expression profile, and investigated the function, transcriptional regulation and clinical relevance of a subset of highly expressed HOXD genes.Two HOXD genes, D10 and D11, showed strikingly high levels in HNSCC cell lines, patient tumor samples and publicly available datasets. Knockdown of HOXD10 in HNSCC cells caused decreased proliferation and invasion, whereas knockdown of HOXD11 reduced only invasion.POU2F1 consensus sequences were identified in the 5′ DNA of HOXD10 and D11. Knockdown of POU2F1 significantly reduced expression of HOXD10 and D11 and inhibited HNSCC proliferation. Luciferase reporter constructs of the HOXD10 and D11 promoters confirmed that POU2F1 consensus binding sites are required for optimal promoter activity.Utilizing patient tumor samples a significant association was found between immunohistochemical staining of HOXD10 and both the overall and the disease-specific survival, adding further support that HOXD10 is dysregulated in head and neck cancer. Additional studies are now warranted to fully evaluate HOXD10 as a prognostic tool in head and neck cancers.

Background The objective of this study was to characterise the incidence and prognostic correlation of perineural invasion (PNI) in oral squamous cell carcinoma and determine whether nerve growth factor and its receptor tyrosine Kinase A expression could be used as biological markers for PNI. Methods A retrospective review of pathology reports of 430 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who were treated from 1992 to 2014 in Tayside, Scotland, was carried out. The expression of nerve growth factor and tyrosine kinase A was assessed with immunohistochemistry in 132 tissue sections of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Results Perineural invasion was identified in 17.4% of oral squamous cell carcinomas. High expression of nerve growth factor and tyrosine kinase A was seen in 84% and 92% of oral squamous cell carcinoma, respectively. Tumours with PNI expressed nerve growth factor and tyrosine kinase A with a greater frequency than tumours without PNI. PNI and high expression of nerve growth factor were significantly associated with pain. PNI was significantly associated with stage IV tumours and poor disease‐specific survival. Conclusions A higher level of expression of nerve growth factor and tyrosine kinase A may predict PNI and therefore may be considered as biological markers for PNI in oral squamous cell carcinoma. PNI and nerve growth factor overexpression may contribute to the pain generation in oral cancer patients. PNI and nerve growth factor expression can predict the aggressiveness and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Background/Aim Machine learning analyses of cancer outcomes for oral cancer remain sparse compared to other types of cancer like breast or lung. The purpose of the present study was to compare the performance of machine learning algorithms in the prediction of global, recurrence‐free five‐year survival in oral cancer patients based on clinical and histopathological data. Methods Data were gathered retrospectively from 416 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The data set was divided into training and test data set (75:25 split). Training performance of five machine learning algorithms (Logistic regression, K‐nearest neighbours, Naïve Bayes, Decision tree and Random forest classifiers) for prediction was assessed by k‐fold cross‐validation. Variables used in the machine learning models were age, sex, pain symptoms, grade of lesion, lymphovascular invasion, extracapsular extension, perineural invasion, bone invasion and type of treatment. Variable importance was assessed and model performance on the testing data was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and F1 score. Results The best performing model was the Decision tree classifier, followed by the Logistic Regression model (accuracy 76% and 60%, respectively). The Naïve Bayes model did not display any predictive value with 0% specificity. Conclusions Machine learning presents a promising and accessible toolset for improving prediction of oral cancer outcomes. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence that Decision tree models are useful in models in predicting OSCC outcomes. We would advise that future similar studies explore a variety of machine learning models including Logistic regression to help evaluate model performance.

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Refinements in the pathologic classification of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have led to reevaluation of radiographic findings. Radiographs of 147 patients with NHL were reviewed, and bone destruction was found in 24. Patients with primitive or poorly differentiated tumors were more likely to have bone involvement than patients with well differentiated lymphomas. Permeative destruction was most common. There was no radiographic correlation between cortical bone destruction and disseminated marrow involvement. The relationship of conventional radiographs to technetium bone scans and gallium scans was assessed. Radiographic response to therapy was noted.

Background. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) metastasis to the salivary glands is extremely rare. Most cases reported previously have involved the parotid gland and only six cases involving the submandibular gland exist in the current literature. Metastasis of RCC to thyroid gland is also rare but appears to be more common than to salivary glands. Methods and Results. We present the first case of simultaneous metastasis to the submandibular and thyroid glands from clear cell RCC in a 61-year-old woman who presented seven years after the primary treatment. The submandibular and thyroid glands were excised completely with preservation of the marginal mandibular and recurrent laryngeal nerves, respectively. Conclusion. Metastatic disease should always be considered in the differential diagnosis for patients who present with painless salivary or thyroid gland swelling with a previous history of RCC. If metastatic disease is confined only to these glands, prompt surgical excision can be curative.

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