西野 宏

The oropharynx is examined with a light source such as an electric light, a penlight, or a forehead mirror based on an acquired visual field using a tongue depressor. However, it is extremely difficult to obtain objective and reproducible images of tissue within the pharynx required in recent years with these methods, and insufficient progress in the examination tools has been made. There is an increasing need to develop a method for display during oropharyngeal examination. We conducted the present study to develop a novel oropharyngeal endoscope as an objective observation method.

Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMT) 5, a member of type II arginine methyltransferases, catalyzes the symmetrical dimethylation of arginine residues on histone and non-histone substrates. Although the overexpression of PRMT5 has been reported in various cancers, its role in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been elucidated. In the present study, we immunohistochemically examined the expression of PRMT5 in surgically resected oral epithelial dysplasia (OED, n = 8), oral intraepithelial neoplasia (OIN)/carcinoma in situ (CIS) (n = 11) and OSCC (n = 52) with or without contiguous OED lesions. In the normal epithelium, PRMT5 was weakly expressed in the cytoplasm of basal layer cells. In OED, OIN/CIS, and OSCC, its expression consistently and uniformly increased in the cytoplasm of dysplastic and cancer cells. Moreover, nuclear and cytoplasmic localization was detected in the invasive front of cancer cells, particularly in cases showing poor differentiation or aggressive invasion patterns. The concomitant nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of PRMT5 correlated with the loss of E-cadherin and cytokeratin 17, and the upregulation of vimentin, features that are both indicative of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. PRMT5 may play a role from early oncogenesis through to the progression of OSCC, particularly in the aggressive mode of stromal invasion.

OBJECTIVE: There has been little progress in examination of the oropharynx with a light source such as electric light, a penlight, or a forehead mirror over the past 100 years. It is therefore necessary to develop methods to display and record oropharyngeal observations. METHOD: Since the aim of this study was to assess the safeness to use from the perspective of physicians, medical staffs, patients, and patients' families and usefulness of pharyngeal scope, the number of devices was limited, the number of patients was not set based on hypothetical statistical tests. RESULTS: A total of 150 volunteers were enrolled in this study. Among them, 96 underwent examination alone and the remaining 28 underwent treatment procedures. The study was done without any complications in all 150 cases. Most (91.3%) physicians hoped to continue using the new device if available. When comparing the use of the device for observation alone and for treatment procedures, there was no significant difference for evaluation items (p > .05) except convenience factor which received a significantly different (p = .0154) evaluation from physicians for observation alone and for treatment procedures. A positive evaluation was received about examination, recording/display and explanation from the patients and patients' families. CONCLUSIONS: Our new device received positive evaluations by who underwent examination of the oral cavity and pharynx, recording of the results, and treatment procedures.

In this clinical report, we present the management of a brain abscess that was presumed to be caused by radiation osteomyelitis of the mandible. The patient underwent chemoradiotherapy for oropharyngeal carcinoma on the left side at the Department of Otolaryngology of our hospital in 2000. Local recurrence or metastasis did not occur post-treatment. In January 2009, the patient was diagnosed with radiation osteomyelitis of the mandible on the left side, complicated by a pathologic fracture. In July 2011, numbness occurred in the left upper extremity and the patient was transferred to the emergency center of our hospital. A computed tomography scan showed a tumor lesion in the brain that was diagnosed as a brain abscess by magnetic resonance imaging. Neurosurgeons performed burr hole drainage of the abscess, followed by administration of antibiotics. Although impaired fine movements of the left hand remain, progress has been relatively favorable with no recurrence of osteomyelitis or brain abscess post-surgery.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the therapeutic outcomes of total pharyngolaryngectomy with those of concomitant chemoradiotherapy in advanced hypopharyngeal cancer. METHODS: This is a retrospective multi-institutional study. The medical records of 979 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer, who were initially treated between 2006 and 2008, were reviewed. In this study, we matched a group of total pharyngolaryngectomy patients with a second group of chemoradiotherapy patients, according to age, gender, subsite, arytenoid fixation, cartilage invasion, and N classification, and analyzed overall survival, disease-specific survival, and locoregional control rates. RESULTS: The matched-pair analysis included 254 patients. The 5-year overall survival, disease-specific survival, and locoregional control rates were 58.5% and 53.5% (P = 0.30), 68.9% and 68.0% (P = 0.80), and 82.2% and 63.6% (P < 0.01), respectively, for patients in the total pharyngolaryngectomy and chemoradiotherapy groups. For T4a patients with cartilage invasion, the matched-pair analysis included 46 patients. The 5-year overall survival, disease-specific, and locoregional control rates were 56.5% and 26.0% (P = 0.092), 56.5% and 41.3% (P = 0.629), and 43.0% and 42.5% (P = 0.779), respectively, for patients in the total pharyngolaryngectomy and chemoradiotherapy groups. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this large-scale multi-institutional joint research program of hypopharyngeal cancer in Japan suggest that chemoradiotherapy may provide adequate survival benefit for hypopharyngeal cancer patients with the distinct advantage of larynx preservation. Our data also suggest that chemoradiotherapy is as beneficial as total pharyngolaryngectomy for the local control of locally advanced hypopharyngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about quality of life and functional status of patients with terminally ill head and neck cancers. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, prospective, observational study to examine quality of life and functional status in terminally ill head and neck cancer patients. RESULTS: Of the 100 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 72 were observed until death. There was no significant difference in the quality of life score between baseline and Week 3. Forty patients (54.9%) could speak and 22 patients (30.5%) could have oral intake upon study entry. Fifty-three patients (74.6%) received enteral nutrition. Twenty-six patients (36.6%) required dressing changes for fungating tumors. The route of nutritional intake (nasogastric tube vs. percutaneous gastric tube) might be predictive for the duration of hospital stay (64 vs. 21 days, P = 0.0372). CONCLUSION: There was no significant relationship between quality of life and functional status seen in this study. Feeding tube type could have the most impact on quality of life.

:Immediate reconstruction of orbitomaxillary defects is challenging for head and neck reconstructive surgeons. The primary goals of orbitomaxillary reconstruction are to cover the skin and mucosal defects, fill the defect space, and reconstruct the natural facial contour. This report describes 2 patients who underwent extended orbitomaxillectomy and immediate reconstruction using a combined latiss

We retrospectively assessed the utility of the LigaSure^TM Vessel Sealing System compared with conventional surgery in 40 cases of free osseous flap harvest comprising 17 fibula flaps ( LigaSure : conventional, 11 : 6 ), 13 scapula flaps ( 4 : 9 ), and 10 iliac crest flaps ( 8 : 2 ). Postoperative duration of suction drain, total fluid collection volume by drain, and avascularized time during fibula flap harvest with a tourniquet did not differ significantly between the LigaSure^TM and conventional techniques. In one case, additional surgery due to hematoma was required 23 days postoperatively in a donor site following scapular tip flap harvest without LigaSure^TM. Reconstructive surgery with free flap transfer is performed with recipient surgery, such as tumor ablation or contracture release; therefore, intraoperative blood loss and total surgical time, which are reportedly significantly decreased by LigaSure^TM, could not be evaluated in this study. LigaSure^TM enables complete hemostasis to be easily accomplished, and the results of hemostasis are at least as favorable as those with the conventional technique.

病気の治療を標準化するためには，何よりもその治療の目的，エンド・ポイントを明確にしなければ議論が不可能である。下顎切除・再建においては，新しい高度な技術が導入されている一方で，多くの症例で大きな機能障害が残存しないため，さまざまな治療法が選択可能となる。これらの多くは治療法として問題ないものなので，優先順位をつけた具体的な治療目標を達成できるかどうかを基準にして選択できるようにするのがこの論文の目的である。具体的には目標を絶対的，標準的，努力目標の3段階に設定し，それぞれに達成率を併記した。

広範囲顎骨支持型装置が保険適応になったことによる医療者側の認識の展望を考察する．当科における7 年間の下顎区域切除66 症例を評価して推察したところ，広範囲顎骨支持型装置の適応症例数は年間人口10 万対1 例であり，実際に広範囲顎骨支持型装置を埋入したのはその1／3 であった．広範囲顎骨支持型装置から期待される効果からすると，これは少ないと考えるべきであり，増やすためには患者の立場で問題をとらえる必要がある．当科で広範囲顎骨支持型装置を埋入した患者を考察すると，義歯を常用でき，埋入までの修正手術が少ない状態で再建されていることが分かった．保険適応になっても患者のニーズ自体に変化はないが，社会のニーズは大きくなっている．今後の方向性としては，より補綴のしやすい顎堤再建を行い，再建と同時の即時埋入も視野に入れて，補綴完了までの患者の負担を小さくすることを目標とすべきである．

放射線性頭蓋底骨壊死は，局所病変であるが，不快な症状を呈し，内頸動脈破裂など重篤な合併症をきたすことがある。疾患の認知と，積極的な対応が望まれる。症例は，61歳男性。上咽頭癌化学放射線治療後再発癌に再照射を行い，局所的な頭蓋底骨壊死を生じた症例の治療を経験した。鼻内内視鏡下手術による腐骨除去が，治療効果においても内頸動脈破裂予防においても有効な治療法と考えられる。しかし，手術操作で内頸動脈露出が懸念される場合は，むしろ内頸動脈破裂を誘発してしまう可能性があり，適応は慎重にすべきである。また，手術に際しては，頭蓋底の構造を理解し，内視鏡手術の技量や技術を駆使した慎重な操作を要すると考えられた。