One of the most distinct features of middle ear cholesteatoma is bone destruction. Aetiology of cholesteatoma is thought to be multifactorial. Endotoxins produced by bacteria are thought to initiate the inflammation process in the middle ear leading to cholesteatoma. There are physiological differences in bone metabolism between men and women. The aim of our study was the immunohistochemical evaluation of the contents of two key components of the OPG/RANK/RANKL triad-RANKL and OPG in cholesteatoma, to analyse if there are any differences between the sexes and to evaluate the bacteria species isolated from cholesteatoma just before surgical treatment and to evaluate their plausible influence on the expression of OPG and RANKL in cholesteatoma. Twenty-one adult patients with acquired cholesteatoma who underwent surgery were analysed. There were no statistically significant differences in the expression of both regulators of osteoclastogenesis between the sexes. In 38.1 % patients cholesteatoma was not infected, whereas in 61.9 % patients various bacterial infections or mycosis were found. The most frequently isolated species was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (14.29 % infections) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (9.52 % infections). There were no statistically significant differences in expression of both OPG and RANKL between uninfected and infected cholesteatomas.

Five patients were surgically treated for intraorbital foreign body: a 14-year-old girl had a door glass splinter, a 23-year-old man a metallic foreign body--gunshot pellet, a 55-year-old man a splinter from a metallic bar, a 48-year-old patient the splinters of circular saw and 61-year-old man with shot. Two foreign bodies were removed using the Krönlein-Reese-Berk lateral orbitotomy, two others by Sewell medial orbitotomy and one with superior orbitotomy of Dandy-Naffziger. Radiographs and CT scans were used to identify and localize intraorbital foreign bodies. In one case we found coexistence foreign body (shot) and tumor--inflammation pseudotumor of the orbita. It is possible, that in this case long-time occupy foreign body in the orbita was a cause of that tumor. All foreign bodies were successfully removed, and postoperative course was uneventful. The Krönlein-Reese-Berk orbitotomy provides a satisfactory access to the lateral and posterior orbit, which is of particular importance in the case of a deeply penetrating foreign body (metallic or glass). Surgical removal of intraorbital foreign bodies is a classic example of an interdisciplinary therapeutic approach. Best outcome is usually a result of a team of an ophtalmologist, ENT surgeon, maxillary surgeon and possibly also neurosurgeon performing the operation.

Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) represents a significant burden worldwide. Chemoprevention of HNSCC is a means of cancer control with a use of drugs or natural agents in order to hinder or delay the cancer development. The purpose of this article is to review mechanism of action of different chemopreventive agents' groups and results of most important researches concerning them. The safety issues of HNSCC chemoprevention are also discussed. In case of HNSCC there is currently no agent, which would give positive result in the third phase of clinical trials. Promising results of preclinical trials are not always confirmed by further tests. Main problems are low effectiveness, high toxicity, and lack of highly specificity biomarkers for monitoring the research. New trials concerning many agents, as well as novel technologies for provision of pharmaceutical forms of them, including drug nanocarriers, are currently underway, which gives hope for finding the perfect chemopreventive agent formula.

No abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of different types of primary orbital tumors, histopathological diagnosis, and postoperative complications.Material/MethodsWe analyzed 122 patients (68 women and 54 men) with orbital tumors, hospitalized in the ENT Department of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice during 1990–2013. The patients were characterized in terms of anatomic, topographical, histopathological, and clinical parameters. The role of diagnostic imagining such as CT, NMR, and fine-needle aspiration (FNB) in preoperative diagnostics is discussed. Results of FNB, cytological, and histopathological examination of the postoperative specimens were compared.ResultsThere were 56 (46%) patients with malignant tumors, 42 (34%) with benign tumors, 19 (16%) with inflammatory tumors, and 5 patients (4%) had other tumors. In cases of malignant tumors, local recurrence up to 5 years was found in 36 (64.3%) cases. In the other 20 (35.7%) cases of malignant tumors, the patients remained under close follow-up in the outpatient clinic, without signs of local recurrence (follow-up 1–17 years). According to histopathological examination, malignant tumors were detected in 45.9% of patients and non-malignant tumor in 34.4% of patients. In 19.7% of patients, inflammatory and other types of tumors were diagnosed.ConclusionsWe characterized the occurrence and pathological profiles of orbital tumors. The tumor location, histopathological diagnosis, and postoperative complications give us important information for the diagnosis of tumor prior to biopsy or tumor resection and for the determination of the treatment strategy and possible complications after surgery.