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Αλέξανδρος Γ. Σφακιανάκης

Monday, February 28, 2022

Managing Cachexia in Head and Neck Cancer: a Systematic Scoping Review

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Adv Ther. 2022 Feb 27. doi: 10.1007/s12325-022-02074-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) are usually confronted with functional changes due to the malignancy itself or its treatment. These factors typically affect important structures involved in speech, breathing, chewing, swallowing, and saliva production. Consequently, the intake of food will be limited, which further contributes to loss of body weight and muscle mass, anorex ia, malnutrition, fatigue, and anemia. This multifactorial condition can ultimately lead to cancer cachexia syndrome. This study aims to examine the treatment of cachexia in HNC patients.

METHODS: We systematically searched OvidMedline, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles examining the treatment of cachexia in HNC.

RESULTS: A total of nine studies were found, and these suggested interventions including nutritional, pharmacologic, therapeutic exercise, and multimodal approaches. The nutritional intervention includes essential components such as dietary counseling, oral nutritional supplements, and medical nutritional support. Individualized nutritional interventions include oral, enteral (feeding tubes i.e., percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy [PEG], nasogastric tube [NGT]) and parenteral nutrition. The pharmacologic interventions aim at increasing the appetite and weight of cachectic patients. Therapeutic exercise and increased physical activity can help to e nhance the synthesis of muscle protein, reducing inflammation and the catabolic effects of cachexia syndrome.

CONCLUSION: Owing to the multifactorial nature of this syndrome, it is expected that the management approach should be multi-interventional. Early implementation of these interventions may help to improve survival and quality of health and life of cachectic HNC patients.

PMID:35224702 | DOI:10.1007/s12325-022-02074-9

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Scalar position, dislocation analysis and outcome in CI reimplantation due to device failure

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Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2022 Feb 28. doi: 10.1007/s00405-022-07315-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Due to increasing indication for cochlear implantation (CI), reimplantation and technical upgrades their consequences are a special focus in CI surgery research. The aim of this study is to examine the indication and influences on both morphological position of the electrode array and audiological outcome following reimplantation.

DESIGN: This is a retrospective analysis of adult CI patients reimplanted between 2004 and 2019. We evaluated the scalar position in pre- and postoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) after CI and reimplantation and examined the indication for and the audiological outcome following reimplantation.

RESULTS: The reimplanted patients showed stable and comparable audiological results for monosyllables and numbers for best fitted situation before and following reimplantation. Tec hnical upgrades did not result in a significant improvement of speech perception. CBCT scans of reimplanted ears did not show significant increased rates of scalar dislocation or partial insertion.

CONCLUSION: Even with a technical upgrade, reimplantation does not improve speech perception outcome in CI patients. Therefore, the indication to reimplant should be approved critically. Reimplantation does not lead to a significantly increased risk for partial insertion, scalar dislocation or diminished electrode array insertion angle.

PMID:35226182 | DOI:10.1007/s00405-022-07315-9

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The advantages of modified Thiel technique in head and neck surgical anatomy teaching

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Surg Radiol Anat. 2022 Feb 28. doi: 10.1007/s00276-022-02895-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Thiel's body preservation method allows the donor body to retain color and soft tissue that are similar to those of a living individual. Since its initial description, the technique has not been developed much. Here, we propose a simpler protocol applied to the head and neck, making the technique easier, cheaper, and more accessible to a greater number of medical schools.

METHODS: The modified Thiel technique was applied to three heads separated from the body, followed by 6 h of perfusion and 6 weeks of fixation. This technique was compared with formalin (three heads) and freeze (three heads) preservations during academic training in head and neck surgery. Anatomical dissections included a parotid gland dissection, a submandibular gland dissection, an otologic and an endonasal dissection. Twelve surgeons blindly assessed the three types of preservations using a standardized questionnaire.

RESULTS: The modified Thiel technique made possible better quality of dissection and tissue identification, with the exception of endonasal dissection. Concerning the endonasal dissection, the modified Thiel technique ranked best for smell, but all other criteria ranked lower than the freezing method. For the submandibular and parotid gland dissections, the modified Thiel technique was ranked best, with statistically significant differences (p < 0.00 2) for all items. The modified Thiel technique also ranked significantly better during otologic surgery regarding the quality of the skin/eardrum, bone, and muscle, and the smell.

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the modified Thiel technique is an embalming technique which improves the quality of head and neck surgical anatomy education.

PMID:35226126 | DOI:10.1007/s00276-022-02895-x

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Growth in fetuses of the constrictor pharyngis superior with special reference to its meeting with the buccinator: an embryological basis of adult variations in palatopharyngeal anatomy

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Surg Radiol Anat. 2022 Feb 28. doi: 10.1007/s00276-022-02907-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The constrictor pharyngis superior (CPS) initially develops along the posterior wall of the pharyngeal mucosal tube, whereas, during the early phase, the buccinators (BC) are far anterolateral to the CPS. The process and timing of their meeting during fetal growth have not been determined.

METHODS: The topographical relationship between the growing BC and CPS was as sessed in histological sections from 22 early- and mid-term fetuses of approximate gestational age (GA) 8-16 weeks, and eight late-term fetuses of approximate GA 31-39 weeks.

RESULTS: At 8-9 weeks, the palatopharyngeus appeared to pull the CPS up and forward. Until 11 weeks, the CPS was attached to the hamulus of the pterygoid (pterygopharyngeal part). Until 13 weeks, the CPS extended anterolaterally beyond the hamulus to meet the BC. Some BC muscle fibers originated from the oral mucosa. Notably, by 30 weeks, the CPS-BC interface had become covered by or attached to the palatopharyngeus. Muscle fibers of the palatopharyngeus, however, were thinner than those of the CPS and BC. At and near the interface, BC muscle fibers tended to run along the left-right axis, whereas those of the CPS ran anteroposteriorly. A definite fascia (i.e., a future pterygomandibular raphe) was usually absent between these muscles in fetuses.

CONCLUSIONS: The excess anterior growth of the CPS wi th its subsequent degeneration might cause individual anatomical variations in composite muscle bundles of the palatopharyngeus-CPS complex or palatopharyngeal sphincter. A tensile transduction from the BC to the CPS through the raphe seemed unnecessary for cooperative suckling and swallowing after birth.

PMID:35226125 | DOI:10.1007/s00276-022-02907-w

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Bilateral vocal fold palsy following COVID-19 infection

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Ear Nose Throat J. 2022 Feb 26:1455613221080987. doi: 10.1177/01455613221080987. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:35225022 | DOI:10.1177/01455613221080987

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Different levels of EGF, VEGF, IL‐6, MCP‐1, MCP‐3, IP‐10, Eotaxin and MIP‐1α in the adipose‐derived stem cell secretome in androgenetic alopecia

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Abstract

Hair folliculogenesis and hair growth mediated by the secretory properties of white adipocytes may pave the way for the adipose-derived (AD) regenerative therapy for androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Quantitative and qualitative secretome profiling of AD stem cells (ADSCs) from different zones of hair growth in patients with AGA were analysed. 1mm punch samples of adipose tissue associated with hair follicles, of three scalp areas (balding, non-balding and transition zone) and one periumbilical sample, were used for ADCS isolation. The ADCS secretome was analysed in conditioned media using a 41plex assay. Among the thirty-five signalling proteins analysed, the levels of VEGF, EGF, IL-6, Eotaxin, MCP-3, IFNγ-inducible Protein-10 and MIP-1α were higher in the balding zone compared with the non-balding and periumbilical zones. In contrast, MCP-1 was lowest in the balding zone in comparison to the other zones. The observed differences in the secretome suggest crosstalk between angiogenic and inflammatory processes underlying AGA etiology and may prove relevant in both the diagnosis of AGA and the application of ADSC secretome for AGA treatment.

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Quality of Life and Functionality of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Are Diminished As a Function of Sarcopenia and Obesity

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Ear Nose Throat J. 2022 Feb 28:1455613221076791. doi: 10.1177/01455613221076791. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (QoL) is a measure that allows us to know the patient's perception of well-being and how it is affected by their disease and treatments. In cancer patients, sarcopenia has been associated with low scores on various instruments used to assess the QoL; however, little information is available on the effects of sarcopenia an d sarcopenic obesity on the QoL of patients with head and neck cancer (H&NC).

METHODS: In this cross-sectional study with 71 H&NC patients aged between 40 and 80 years, we describe the scores on the instruments EORTC QLQ C-30 and EORTC QLQ-H&N35 according to the sarcopenia phenotype (NSG, nonsarcopenic group; SG, sarcopenic group; and SOG, sarcopenic obesity group), hand-grip strength, gait speed, total lymphocyte count, albumin, cholesterol and C-reactive protein, and the relationships between these variables.

RESULTS: The prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity was 48% and 28%, respectively. The QoL analysis showed that NSG had higher scores on the physical functioning scale [NSG 93 (83-100); SG 73 (52-88); SOG 83 (53-93), P = .009] and lower scores on the fatigue scale [NSG 11 (0-22); S 39 (30-67); SOG 44 (14-56); P = .004]. The NSG had a higher hand-grip strength (31.1 kg) than SG (24.1 kg, P = .007) and SOG (26.3 kg, P = .001), and a lower C-reac tive protein. The SG and SOG showed no differences between them.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with sarcopenia or sarcopenic obesity have lower physical performance and a higher level of fatigue than nonsarcopenic patients. This loss of function can maintain or worsen sarcopenia due to the patient's self-restraint in physical exertion that encourages an increase in muscle tissue.

PMID:35226551 | DOI:10.1177/01455613221076791

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