We could treat cancer patients by radiotherapy without reducing their QOL, and improvement in QOL was significant in the palliative radiotherapy group. Mental condition was also improved after radiotherapy.

Background: The epipharynx, with its high expression of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) entry factors angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2), is a primary target for SARS-CoV-2 replication in the early stage of Coronavirus Disease 19 . Epipharyngeal abrasive therapy (EAT) is a treatment for epipharyngitis in Japan which involves applying zinc chloride to the epipharyngeal mucosa. In this study, we evaluated the expression patterns of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in tissue samples from patients before and after EAT. Patients and Methods: The study subjects were seven patients that had not been treated with EAT and 11 patients that had. For immunohistochemical assessment of the epipharyngeal mucosa, the staining intensity of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was described as an immunohistochemical score (IHC score). Results: The IHC scores for ACE2 and TEMPRSS2 in the EAT-treated group were 3.40-fold and 1.81-fold lower, respectively, than those in the non-treated group (p=0.0208 and p=0.0244, respectively). Conclusion: EAT down-regulates the expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Thus, EAT has potential as a novel COVID-19 preventative method.

COVID-19 often causes sequelae after initial recovery, referred to collectively as long COVID. Long COVID is considered to be caused by the persistence of chronic inflammation after acute COVID-19 infection. We found that all long COVID patients had residual inflammation in the epipharynx, an important site of coronavirus replication, and some long COVID symptoms are similar to those associated with chronic epipharyngitis. Epipharyngeal abrasive therapy (EAT) is a treatment for chronic epipharyngitis in Japan that involves applying zinc chloride as an anti-inflammatory agent to the epipharyngeal mucosa. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of EAT for the treatment of long COVID. The subjects in this study were 58 patients with long COVID who were treated with EAT in the outpatient department once a week for one month (mean age = 38.4 ± 12.9 years). The intensities of fatigue, headache, and attention disorder, which are reported as frequent symptoms of long COVID, were assessed before and after EAT using the visual analog scale (VAS). EAT reduced inflammation in the epipharynx and significantly improved the intensity of fatigue, headache, and attention disorder, which may be related to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). These results suggest that EAT has potential as a novel method for long COVID treatment.

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