• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권12호
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• pp.6083-6086
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• 2012

Background: The aim of this study was to screen for human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) using P16 immunostaining. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 150 samples from patients diagnosed with HNSCCs. HPV status was determined using $p16^{INK4A}$. Results: 31 of the 150 (20.7%) HNSCCs were HPV positive. Conclusions: A large proportion of HNSCCs in Sudan are associated with HPV infection. The fact that the prevalence of HPV is high among Sudanese patients with head and neck cancers (HNC) has obvious implications for vaccine therapy.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.21-28
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• 2019

Objectives: Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) is one of the most severe complications resulting from radiotherapy (RT) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). It is characterized by persistent exposed and devitalized bone without proper healing for greater than 6 months after a high dose of radiation in the area. To describe the profile and dental management of ORN in HNC patients undergoing RT in an oncological clinical research center. Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was performed to analyze dental records from HNC patients with ORN treated at an oncological clinical research center from 2013 to 2017. A total of 158 dental records for HNC patients were selected from a total of 583 records. Afterwards, this number was distributed to three examiners for manual assessments. Each examiner was responsible for selecting dental records that contained an ORN description, resulting in 20 dental records. Results: Mean patient age was 60.3 years with males being the most affected sex (80.0%). The most affected area was the posterior region of the mandible (60.0%) followed by the anterior region of the mandible (20.0%) and the posterior region of the maxilla (10.0%). The factors most associated with ORN were dental conditions (70.0%) followed by isolated systemic factors (10.0%) and tumor resection (5.0%). There was total exposed bone closure in 50.0% of cases. The predominant treatment was curettage associated with chlorhexidine 0.12% irrigation (36.0%). Conclusion: Poor dental conditions were related to ORN occurrence. ORN management through less invasive therapies was effective for the closure of exposed bone areas and avoidance of infection.

• 한국의학물리학회지:의학물리
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.70-81
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the dosimetric difference between intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in head and neck cancer (HNC). The study primarily focuses on low-dose spillage evaluation between these two techniques. Methods: This retrospective study involved 45 patients with HNC. The treatment plans were generated using the IMRT and VMAT techniques for all patients. Dosimetric comparisons were performed in terms of target coverage, organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing, and various parameters, including conformity index, uniformity index, homogeneity index, conformation number, low-dose volumes, and normal tissue integral dose (NTID). Results: No significant (P>0.05) difference in planning target volume coverage (D_95%) was observed between IMRT and VMAT plans for supraglottic larynx, hard palate, and tongue cancers. A decrease in dose volumes ranging from 1 Gy to 30 Gy was observed for VMAT plans compared with those for IMRT plans, except for V_1Gy and V_30Gy for supraglottic larynx cancer and V_1Gy for tongue cancer. Moreover, decreases (P<0.05) in NTID were observed for VMAT plans compared with that for IMRT plans in supraglottic larynx (4.50%), hard palate (12.80%), and tongue (7.76%) cancers. In contrast, a slight increase in monitor units for VMAT compared with those for IMRT in supraglottic larynx (0.46%), hard palate (2.54%), and tongue (7.56%) cancers. Conclusions: For advanced-stage HNC, both IMRT and VMAT offer satisfactory clinical plans. VMAT offers a conformal and homogeneous dose distribution with comparable OAR sparing and higher dose falloff outside the target volume than IMRT, which provides an edge to reduce the risk of secondary malignancies for HNC over IMRT.

• 대한임베디드공학회논문지
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• 제18권6호
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• pp.267-275
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• 2023

This paper presents the development of specialized software for annotating volume-of-interest on ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT images with the goal of facilitating the studies and diagnosis of head and neck cancer (HNC). To achieve an efficient annotation process, we employed the SE-Norm-Residual Layer-based U-Net model. This model exhibited outstanding proficiency to segment cancerous regions within ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scans of HNC cases. Manual annotation function was also integrated, allowing researchers and clinicians to validate and refine annotations based on dataset characteristics. Workspace has a display with fusion of both PET and CT images, providing enhance user convenience through simultaneous visualization. The performance of deeplearning model was validated using a Hecktor 2021 dataset, and subsequently developed semi-automatic annotation functionalities. We began by performing image preprocessing including resampling, normalization, and co-registration, followed by an evaluation of the deep learning model performance. This model was integrated into the software, serving as an initial automatic segmentation step. Users can manually refine pre-segmented regions to correct false positives and false negatives. Annotation images are subsequently saved along with their corresponding ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT fusion images, enabling their application across various domains. In this study, we developed a semi-automatic annotation software designed for efficiently generating annotated lesion images, with applications in HNC research and diagnosis. The findings indicated that this software surpasses conventional tools, particularly in the context of HNC-specific annotation with ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT data. Consequently, developed software offers a robust solution for producing annotated datasets, driving advances in the studies and diagnosis of HNC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권18호
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• pp.7603-7609
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• 2014

Glutathione is a thiol compound that plays an important role in the antioxidant defense system of the cell and its deficiency leads to an increased susceptibility to oxidative stress and, thus, progression of many disease states including head and neck cancer. In the present study, alterations of glutathione levels were investigated in study cohort of 500 samples (cohort 1 containing 200 head and neck cancer blood samples along with 200 healthy controls and cohort II with 50 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissue samples along with 50 control tissues) by high performance liquid chromatography. The results indicated that mean blood glutathione levels were significantly reduced in head and neck cancer patients (p<0.001) compared to respective controls. In contrast, the levels of glutathione total (p<0.05) and glutathione reduced (p<0.05) were significantly elevated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissues compared to the adjacent cancer-free control tissues. In addition to this, pearson correlation performed to correlate different tissue glutathione levels (GSH) with clinical/pathological parameters demonstrated a significant negative correlation between pT-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.263^{**}$; p<0.01), C-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.335^{**}$; p<0.01), grade and GSH ($r=-0.329^{**}$; p<0.01) and grade versus redox index ($r=-0.213^{**}$; p<0.01) in HNSCC tissues. Our study suggests that dysregulation of glutathione levels in head and neck cancer has the potential to predict metastasis, and may serve as a prognostic marker.

• Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine
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• 제42권6호
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• pp.846-853
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• 2018

Objective To compare the effects of low intensity ultrasound (LIUS), traditional exercise therapy (TET), low level laser therapy (LLLT) and TET on temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and trismus following recovery from head and neck cancer (HNC). Methods Sixty participants following, who had experienced HNC, were randomly allocated to three groups of 20 people each. Each group received different therapy. Group A received LIUS and TET; group B received LLLT and TET; while group C received TET. All 60 participants were evaluated under the visual analog scale (VAS), the University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire (UW-QOL) and the Vernier caliper scale (VCS) at the beginning of the therapies and after 4 weeks. Results ANOVA test revealed significant improvements across all three groups with outcomes of p<0.05. The results of the UW-QOL questionnaire showed a significant difference between groups A, B and C in favor of group A (p<0.05). The VAS results showed a more improvement in group A as compared to group B (p<0.05), while there was no statistical difference between groups B and C (p>0.05). The VCS results showed more improvement for the individuals in group B as compared to those in group C (p<0.05), while there was minimal difference between groups A and B (p>0.05). Conclusion The LIUS and TET are more effective than LLLT and/or TET in reducing TMJ pain and trismus following HNC.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제33권11호
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• pp.876-886
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• 2023

두경부암(HNC)의 경우, 외과적 개입은 환자의 삶의 질에 심각한 영향을 미칠 수 있으며, 화학요법을 병행하게 된다. 그러나 화학요법에는 현저한 부작용이 있으므로 환자의 고통을 최소화하기 위한 보조 방법의 개발이 필요하다. 천궁(Ligusticum chuanxiong)은 동양 의학에서 뇌혈관 장애 및 두통에 사용되는 천연 허브이다. 본 연구에서는 네트워크 기반 약리학 및 분자 도킹 분석을 통해 천궁의 근본적인 항암기전을 예측하였다. 본 연구에서 HNC와 관련된 천궁의 공통 유전자를 밝혀내어 신경 활성 리간드의 대사 및 신경 전달 물질 경로와의 연관성을 확인했다. 본 연구는 천궁의 성분 중 하나인 (Z)-ligustilide 가 암세포 활성화에 관련된 heat shock protein 90의 ATP 결합 부위를 공유함을 입증했다. 이 결과는 천궁이 보조 항암제 개발을 위한 유망한 후보임을 시사하며, 향 후 더욱 새롭고 안전한 항암제의 연구개발에 과학적 근거를 제시하는 새로운 발견이다.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.206-215
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• 2013

Purpose: Re-irradiation (re-RT) is considered a treatment option for inoperable locoregionally recurrent head and neck cancer (HNC) after prior radiotherapy. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of re-RT using Helical Tomotherapy as image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy in recurrent HNC. Materials and Methods: Patients diagnosed with recurrent HNC and received re-RT were retrospectively reviewed. Primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) and secondary endpoints were locoregional control and toxicities. Results: The median follow-up period of total 9 patients was 18.7 months (range, 4.1 to 76 months) and that of 3 alive patients was 49 months (range, 47 to 76 months). Median dose of first radiotherapy and re-RT was 64.8 and 47.5 $Gy_{10}$. Median cumulative dose of the two courses of radiotherapy was 116.3 $Gy_{10}$ (range, 91.8 to 128.9 $Gy_{10}$) while the median interval between the two courses of radiation was 25 months (range, 4 to 137 months). The response rate after re-RT of the evaluated 8 patients was 75% (complete response, 4; partial response, 2). Median locoregional relapse-free survival after re-RT was 11.9 months (range, 3.4 to 75.1 months) and 5 patients eventually presented with treatment failure (in-field failure, 2; in- and out-field failure, 2; out-field failure, 1). Median OS of the 8 patients was 20.3 months (range, 4.1 to 75.1 months). One- and two-year OS rates were 62.5% and 50%, respectively. Grade 3 leucopenia developed in one patient as acute toxicity, and grade 2 osteonecrosis and trismus as chronic toxicity in another patient. Conclusion: Re-RT using Helical Tomotherapy for previously irradiated patients with unresectable locoregionally recurrent HNC may be a feasible treatment option with long-term survival and acceptable toxicities.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권sup3호
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• pp.87-91
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• 2016

To investigate whether excision repair cross complementing-group1 (ERCC1) expression status could serve as a bio-predictor of response to platinum-based induction chemotherapy for head and neck cancers (HNCs) patients with a diagnosis of epithelial HNC were studied retrospectively. Paraffin embedded tumor samples of the patients were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to determine ERCC1 expression status and its correlation with response to platinum-based induction chemotherapy was investigated. Of 44 included patients, 33 were male (75%) and 11 were female (25%) with a mean age of 53 years. Some 36% of patients whose tumor samples had high ERCC1 expression showed no response to induction chemotherapy. The value for patients with low ERCC1 expression was 9% and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.03). The ERCC1 expression state did not significantly vary between patient groups according to sex, age, primary tumor site, and tumor and node stage. Our study indicates that ERCC1 expression status detected by RT-PCR might serve as a bio-predictor of response to platinum-based induction chemotherapy for epithelial HNCs.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.77-90
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• 2004

종양 발생 과정에 관여되고 있는 분자 생물학적 기전을 직접 공격해 보자고 하는 치료 방침은 암 치료에 있어서 아주 유망한 치료방법의 하나로 인정되고 있다. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) 수용체에 여러 ligands가 결합하게 되면 발암 단계에서부터 암의 진행 과정과 전이 과정 그리고 방사선에 대한 저항성과 관련된 여러 가지중요한 신호전달체계를 활성화시킨다. 특히 진행된 두경부 암 환자들에서 EGFR이 과발현 된 경우에는 매우 불량한 예후를 나타내고 있기 때문에 이러한 signaling pathway의 selective targeting을 위한 많은 임상 시도가 이루어지고 있다. 현재까지 알려진 표적치료 항암제로는 크게 EGFR에 대한 monoclonal antibody와 tyrosin kinase Inhibitors로 대별될 수 있는데 이와 같은 약제들은 여러 xenograft에서 고무적인 실험 결과들이 입증되어 곧 바로 임상 현장에서 적용되고 있다. 그러나 기대와는 달리 EGFR Inhibitor 단독으로 치료한 초기 임상연구 결과들을 보면 극히 소수의 환자에서만 미미한 효과를 나타내고 있고, 방사선 치료와의 병용치료에서도 괄목할만한 항암 효과를 보여주지 않고 있다. 그럼에도 불구하고 많은 실험적 데이터로부터 여러 가지 생물학적 이점이 밝혀져 있고 또 미래 지향적인 치료법의 하나로 각광을 받고 있기 때문에 현재 많은 연구자들은 어떤 환자 군에서 이러한 표적 치료가 도움이 될 것이며, 방사선 치료 또는 항암 치료와는 어떤 방식으로 조합할 것인지, 또 그 순서는 어떻게 할 것이며, 또 환자 선정에 있어 reliable marker는 무엇인지, 어떻게 체내에서 신호 전달체계의 효과적인 차단을 확인할 수 있겠는지, 또한 multiple targ리ed therapy가 필 요하도록 하는 targeted agent에 대 한 Intrinsic 또는 acquired resistance의 기전은 무엇인지 등등, 현재 당면하고 있는 많은 문제점을 규명하고자 노력하고 있다. 특히 EGFR-signaling pathway를 표적으로 하는 표적 지향적 방사선 치료를 위한 translation research의 적절한 모델이 되고 있는 두경부 암 환자에서 이러한 제반 문제점을 해결하기 위해서는 더 많은 임상 연구와 함께 well-Integrated laboratory clinical research program이 필요할 것으로 생각된다 또한 EGFR antagonist 외에도 anglogenlc pathway나 cell-cycle pathway를 표적으로 하는 새로운 약제들이 계속 개발되고 있고 이에 관한 연구가 활발히 진행 중이다. 따라서 이 고찰에서는 두경부 암 환자에서 이러한 약제들을 방사선 치료와 병용하였을 때의 임상 연구 결과들을 재검토해 보고 부가적으로 EGFR blockade에 따르는 내성 문제 그리고 방사선 치료를 병용하면서 여러 표적을 동시에 차단시키는 multiple-targeted therapy의 개발 현황을 간략히 소개하고자 한다