Although many clinical and pathological prognostic factors such as tumor stage and lymph-node involvement have been described, to date no reliable or clinically applicable marker or tumor aggressiveness has been identified for head and neck cancer. In an attempt to identify such a molecular prognostic marker, we analyzed the mRNA expression status of ING3 by quantitative reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction. We also examined p53 mutation status and investigated its relationship with ING3, as well its clinicopathological characteristics. H ead and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the fifth most frequently occurring malignancy worldwide, representing a major international health problem. Despite improved detection and aggressive and multidisciplinary treatment approaches, including preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy with surgery, head and neck cancers are still a great threat to human life and limited improvement in 5-year survival has been gained over the last few decades.(1) Moreover, current therapeutic agents are highly toxic, which decreases the quality of life of patients and has limited effect on survival. An ideal or best situation would be to find a single factor or several factors that could guide the clinician in choosing therapeutic options, as well as a treatment method that is effective and does not deteriorate the patients' quality of life. Although many clinical and pathological prognostic factors, such as tumor stage, lymph-node involvement, post-surgical margin, and histological grade, have been described, to date no reliable marker of tumor aggressiveness has been identified for HNSCC.Recent advances in the molecular biology of human cancers, including head and neck carcinomas, and technology have provided possible novel diagnostic and prognostic markers. These studies have already shown various molecular abnormalities in HNSCC, including activation of oncogenes, (2,3) inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes (TSG), (4 -7) expression of angiogenic factors, (8) and loss of heterozygosity, (5)(6)(7)9) at numerous chromosomal locations. Based on these molecular observations, recent studies have tried to find biomarkers that precisely identify patients at highest risk. These studies primarily had two purposes. The first was to find a reliable and easily applicable marker that can assist in the early diagnosis of cancer during carcinogenic stages. In such a study, 11 out of 35 oral premalignant lesions followed up from 1 to 16 years developed cancer and 7 of 11 cases had a p53 mutation.(10) The second was that these molecular analyses would give information about the prognosis and behavior of the tumor, such as metastatic capacity, recurrence or aggressive phenotype, response to chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and survival of the patient. In fact, an increasing number of studies have been published in the literature recently that suggest that alterations of chromosomal loci and expression of cancer-related genes could be used as prognostic or responsive markers f...

Acupuncture is a well-known form of Asian medical treatment and it is used not only as an effective curative method but also to prevent illness and maintain health. It is used for the production of analgesic effect; stress related physical-mental disorders and homeostasis. Electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation, an application of electrical current on acupuncture needles, is one of the most popular types of this traditional therapy. In recent years, intensive studies have been carried out to explain the underlying mechanisms of the efficacy of acupuncture. An increase in the release of endogen opioid peptides is generally accepted to be a keystone pathway that affects the immune system after the acupuncture application. To understand the huge gap between specific skin point applications and immune responses, a vast number of accumulating data of experimental and clinical studies in the literature have been collected. This paper reviews the data to explain the updated mechanisms related to immune modulation via acupuncture therapy.

FDG uptake has predictive value in locally advanced NSCLC, independently of tumor size.

We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma originated from a sacrococcygeal tailgut cyst in a 73-year-old female patient. Tailgut cysts are generally multilocal and have a layer of either columnar, squamous or transitional epithelium, or a combination of these. This case was treated with surgical excision and radiotherapy. Cancer presentation of a congenital abnormality in old age is a rare entity. This report is the first case of squamous cell carcinoma developing in a tailgut cyst without any synchronization, as an isolated (pure) pathology.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is a potent anticancer drug. Neurotoxicity is one of the most important dose-limiting toxicity of CDDP. We investigated the role of amifostine in the protection against CDDP-induced neurotoxicity especially on the motor nerves. All experiments were conducted on female Wistar albino rats. Animals were randomly assigned to two groups, each including six rats. Group A received CDDP plus amifostine and Group B received CDDP only. Electroneurography (ENG) was carried out in the beginning and at the end of 7 wk; then, the rats were sacrificed and the sciatic nerve was removed for histopathological examination. The mean initial latency was 2.4667 msn for group A and 2.44833 msn for group B. After 7 wk of treatment, the latency was 2.9167 for group A and 2.6333 for group B. The difference in latencies was not statistically significant. The amplitude was 11.7853 mV and 13.533 mV for groups A and B, respectively. After 7 wk of treatment, the amplitude was 9.400 mV and 9.000 mV, respectively. The decrease of amplitude in compound muscle action potential (CMAP) was 20% in the amifostine group and the decrease was 33% in the untreated group. The mean area of the CMAP in group A was 9.400 mVsn initially and 9.666 mVsn at the end of the treatment; there was a 0.3% increase despite CDDP treatment. In group B, the mean area of the CMAP was 13.816 mVsn initially and 11.857 mVsn at the end of the treatment; this corresponded to a statistically significant 14% decrease as a result of CDDP treatment. The ENG and histopathological studies showed that at the given dose and schedule CDDP-induced motor neuropathy and amifostine reduced this neuropathy both by protection of the amplitude and area of the CMAP in ENG studies and by sparing a larger number of nerve fibers.