Oral melanoma in HIV-positive patients is exceedingly rare, with only two cases reported in the literature published in English. Herein, we report two additional cases of oral melanomas which occurred as oral masses in the upper gingiva and hard palate in 35- and 27-year-old HIV-positive women. Significant thrombocytopenia, anemia, reduced CD4 cells, and high HIV load occurred in both patients. Microscopically, the lesions showed a variable proliferation of fusiform and epithelioid-pigmented cells, with cellular pleomorphism and high mitotic index. The diagnosis of melanoma was supported by positive immunoreactivity for S-100, MelanA, and HMB-45. Both cases had an unfavorable outcome, and the patients died a few months after the initial diagnosis. Because of its rarity, oral melanoma occurring in HIV-positive patients can pose problems in diagnosis and should be clinically distinguished from Kaposi’s sarcoma, which is more common in the context of the immunodeficiency syndrome.
A model of field cancerization orchestrated by the cancer stem cells (CSC) was proposed. Podoplanin and ABCG2 are promising marker of CSCs for head and neck cancer. We revisited the correlation of the two markers with the follow-up data of the patients with oral erythroplakia (OE). Strikingly, we observed that the expression of podoplanin and ABCG2 within a single pre-neoplastic OE lesion significantly correlate with subsequently developing multiple and multifocal carcinomas, thus to some extent demonstrating the concept of field cancerization. Collectively, a point to highlight was that a preliminary evidence that provided by this revisited study supported the perspective on cancer stem cells driving the process of field cancerization.
DNA-aneuploidy cytology as a promising noninvasive tool in diagnosing oral precancer and cancer has been proposed in 2015. In this letter, we identified 9 studies on DNA aneuploidy cytology with special emphasis on using fresh tissue sample in detection of oral precancer and cancer. Evidence was updated as follows, for detection of OSCC in general oral lesions, the pooled sensitivity and specificity was 84.8 and 99.0 respectively; for discrimination of dysplasia and OSCC form oral lesions, the sensitivity and specificity was 75.7 and 76.8 respectively. On the whole, current evidence on the theme is not robust, and multicenter prospective studies are needed to consolidate the evidence.
Immunotherapy (IO) with anti-PD1 inhibitors is available for the treatment of recurrent/metastatic squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHD) since 2016. Both nivolumab and pembrolizumab were tested in phase 3 randomized trials in adults progressing on or after platinum-based therapy and were found to confer an overall survival benefit compared to investigator’s choice. However, very limited data exist concerning IO use in rare subtypes of head and neck carcinoma, like salivary gland carcinoma.
We retrospectively collected clinical data of all patients diagnosed with rare subtypes of head and neck carcinoma, who were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors in our department during the last 5 years. We analyzed safety and efficacy of these therapies.
We identified six patients who received nivolumab for recurrent or metastatic head and neck carcinomas, between 31 and 57 years old. All patients had received at least one line of platinum-chemotherapy, as well as radiation therapy. Treatment was administered every 2 weeks, at a dose of 3 mg per kilogram of body weight. Number of nivolumab cycles varied between 2 and 18. Progression-free survival varied from 1 to 12 months and overall survival from 4 to 24 months. Tolerance was very good, except for one case of diabetes and hypothyroidism requiring medication.
There is currently insufficient evidence regarding the optimal treatment of the rare non-squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Our case series supports a role for immunotherapy in these patients. However, larger collaborative studies are needed to evaluate this treatment.
We report the case of a 70-year-old man with primary and metastatic tumors, showing clinically progressive disease and complete response to nivolumab therapy, respectively. He underwent total pharyngo-laryngectomy, bilateral neck dissection, and reconstruction with free-jejunum after nivolumab therapy failure, and had no recurrent or newly arising lesions 8 months after the surgery. Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that metastatic neck tumor with the clinical complete response to nivolumab showed higher PD-L1 expression with higher CD8+ TIL density, while primary lesion with progressive disease showed lower PD-L1 expression with lower CD8+ TIL density. This represents the first case reported on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with salvage surgery after nivolumab therapy failure.
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but aggressive neuroendocrine skin malignancy. We report here a case of localized MCC achieving pathologic complete response upon treatment with avelumab in the neoadjuvant setting. Preclinical and clinical studies have revealed a close relationship between MCC and the immune system, thus supporting a role for PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in MCC. This neoadjuvant use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors can avoid potentially disfiguring surgery in MCC. As the incidence of MCC is rising, clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy in resectable disease.
Head and neck cancer poses a significant health problem worldwide. We set out to investigate the value of rapid intraoperative cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry for the intraoperative characterization of head and neck lesions and surgical margins. Seventy patients with head and neck lesions suspicious of malignancy were included in the study. There were 31 neoplastic and 39 benign lesions. Flow cytometry permitted the intraoperative detection of neoplastic lesions within 6 min with high sensitivity and specificity based on cell cycle fractions. In the cases in which surgical margins were assessed, intraoperative flow cytometry had complete concordance with pathology. Intreoperative flow cytometry is a novel promising technique for rapid intraoperative characterization of malignancy and tumour free resection margins in head and neck lesions.
Osteonecrosis of the jaw is a potential side effect of certain pharmaceutical agents used in the field of medicine. Early diagnosis and effective management of this condition can be challenging to the clinicians. Bisphosphonates and other anti-angiogenic agents are the most common drugs that are attributed to cause medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. In the past, arsenic-based compounds were commonly used local agents for pulp devitalization therapy. Arsenic is also one of the components of the chemotherapeutic regimen in the management of refractory leukemia. Although local diffusion of the arsenic compounds is known to cause osteonecrosis, there are no reports of the same caused by its systemic administration. Here, we present the first ever case of mandibular bone necrosis in a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia who underwent systemic arsenic trioxide therapy.
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