The impact of treatment modality and radiation technique on outcomes and toxicity of patients with locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer

Abstract

Objective: In humans, antenatal alcohol exposure elicits various developmental disorders, in particular in the brain. Numerous studies focus on the deleterious effects of alcohol on neural cells. Although recent studies suggest that alcohol can affect angiogenesis in adults, the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on brain microvasculature remains poorly understood. Methods: We used a mouse model to investigate effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the cortical microvascular network in vivo and ex vivo and the action of alcohol, glutamate, and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) on activity, plasticity, and survival of microvessels. We used quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, immunohistochemistry, calcimetry, and videomicroscopy. We characterized the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on the cortical microvascular network in human controls and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)/partial FAS (pFAS) patients at different developmental stages. Results: In mice, prenatal alcohol exposure induced a reduction of cortical vascular density, loss of the radial orientation of microvessels, and altered expression of VEGF receptors. Time‐lapse experiments performed on brain slices revealed that ethanol inhibited glutamate‐induced calcium mobilization in endothelial cells, affected plasticity, and promoted death of microvessels. These effects were prevented by VEGF. In humans, we evidenced a stage‐dependent alteration of the vascular network in the cortices of fetuses with pFAS/FAS. Whereas no modification was observed from gestational week 20 (WG20) to WG22, the radial organization of cortical microvessels was clearly altered in pFAS/FAS patients from WG30 to WG38. Interpretation: Prenatal alcohol exposure affects cortical angiogenesis both in mice and in pFAS/FAS patients, suggesting that vascular defects contribute to alcohol‐induced brain abnormalities. Ann Neurol ANN NEUROL 2012;72:952–960

Prognostic Factors and Clinical Outcome in Parotid Gland Tumors: a Single Institution Experience from the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey

“…Some studies have shown that the lymphndode is involved at the time of diagnosis (Koivunen et al, 2002), but some studies have shown often there is lymph node involvement at the time of diagnosis (Al-Mamgani et al, 2012;Mercante et al, 2014). In our series, was 57% had lymph node involvement.…”

“…The most frequently recorded histological types in our series were adenoid cystic carcinoma followed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma and malign mixt tumor. Parotid gland's cancers is mostly diagnosed at a locally advanced stage (Ito et al, 2005;Al-Mamgani et al, 2012;Mercante et al, 2014). In our study; 46% occured in stage T2, 42% stage T3 and 9% stage T4.…”

“…In our study, there was 6% extracapsuler extansion. Parotid glands cancers is mostly diagnosed at intermediate and high grade (Al-Mamgani et al, 2012). In our series, 61% occured in intermediate grade and 32% high grade.…”

“…Parotid glands tumors occurs more commonly between the 6. and 7. decades (Alterio et al, 2011;Al-Mamgani et al, 2012;Mercante et al, 2014). The mean age in our study was, 58.9 years.…”

Efficacy and toxicity of docetaxel combination chemotherapy for advanced squamous cell cancer of the head and neck

“…Radiochemotherapy is currently the cornerstone of treatment for SCCHN (11,12), either alone or combined with surgery. However, a major disadvantage of induction chemotherapy is severe treatment-induced toxicity.…”