Vol 6, No 1 (2016)

This rare tumor from a group of neuroendocrine neoplasms was studied. The material for the study was the data of 78 patients with esthesioneuroblastoma who had been treated and followed up at the N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center in the period 1965 to 2014. Information on hospital statistics, clinical features, methods, and treatment results were presented. The possibilities of using the TNM classification for the nasal cavity, ethmoidal sinuses, and nasopharynx were assessed to determine the anatomic extent of primary tumor. The findings contribute to the solution of problems in the diagnosis and treatment of esthesioneuroblastoma at the present stage. 

Background. Incidence of oral cancer in Russia is 4.52 and mortality – 2.44. Head and neck cancer is characterized by the high risk of development of metastases in regional lymph nodes. Lymph nodes status exerts influence on the treatment plan and appears to be the major predictive factor. Regional metastases result into two-fold decrease of five-year survival. Therefore, evaluation and treatment of metastatic lymph nodes is of prime importance.
Objective. The aim of this manuscript was to illustrate and summarize publications devoted to modern methods of ultrasound evaluation of cervical lymph node status in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.
Results. Numerous studies have demonstrated, that standard ultrasound investigation (in B-mode) is characterized by high sensitivity and specificity (specificity varies from 71.0 to 96.4 %, and specificity – from 46.6 to 91.0 %, according to different studies). In addition, ultrasound efficiency exceeds that of CT. Accuracy of ultrasound as the method of cervical lymph node investigation has increased after implementation of such methods, as elastography and elastometry (this techniques allow to achieve sensitivity of 98.1 % and specificity of 100 %). 

This paper analyzes the results of treatment for disseminated oral cancer (T1N0M0). The combined (surgery and radiotherapy) treatment group demonstrated the best 5-year overall and relapse-free survival rates (96.6 and 92.3 %, respectively). In the surgery group only, these rates were lower, amounting to 79.2 and 68.7 %, respectively. The medical therapy group was noted to have the lowest 5-year overall and relapse-free survival rates (81.8 and 45.5 %, respectively). 

To reveal the specific features of hematopoiesis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the authors analyzed the indicators of 41 bone marrow aspirates in relation to the clinical and morphological characteristics of the tumor and micrometastases detected in bone marrow. Puncture samples were morphologically and molecularly examined at the Laboratory of Hematopoiesis Immunology, N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center. The found changes in the bone marrow cell composition in HNSCC patients showed themselves as an increase in the relative count of segmented neutrophils and a decrease in the level of immature granulocytes with no alternations in the neutrophil maturation index and in the percentage of granulocyte lineage cells. Bone marrow hypocellularity is a characteristic feature of high-grade HNSCC. The significantly enhanced leuko-erythroblastic ratio was due to a reduction in red blood cells: the erythroid cell maturation index rose, by increasing the percentage of bone marrow oxyphilic normoblasts in patients with locally advanced HNSCC. A highly sensitive method for detecting mRNA of the specific squamous cell carcinoma protein E48 was perfected using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and Southern blotting, followed by an enzyme immunoassay that could recognize bone marrow micrometastases in 35 % of the patients with HNSCC. The patients with found bone marrow micrometastases showed a significant decrease in the proportion of polychromatophilic normoblasts and a significant increase in granulocytes in the presence of normal values of lymphocytes and other cellular elements of myelograms. It was established that in the presence of regional lymph node involvement, bone marrow micrometastases were significantly more frequently in the patients with HNSCC and tumor progression over a period of up to 9 months. 

Piloid astrocytoma (PA) is a glioma that is most frequently encountered in children (WHO grade I). According to most authors, stereotactic radiation (radiotherapy and radiosurgery) is an effective method to control tumor growth in patients with incomplete removal of PA and its recurrence.
The authors describe a clinical case of a female patient with PA of the midbrain; during the first 7 months after radiation she showed an obvious enlargement of the tumor, as evidenced by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with its further regression without any antitumor treatment. A follow-up of the patient and a regular evaluation of her clinical status and MRI changes, as compared to the similar clinical cases and literature data, may suggest that PA enlargement early after radiotherapy is generally pseudoprogression rather than true progression of the tumor.
An understanding of this phenomenon will be able to improve the assessment of radiotherapy results in patients with PA and to rule out unnecessary antitumor treatment in this category of patients.