Genetic alteration involving N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulatory genes is a frequent characteristic of multiple tumors. Nevertheless, little is known regarding their genetic alteration signatures and prognostic values in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In this study, RNA sequence profiles and copy number variation (CNV) data of 506 HNSCC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Correlation analysis involving alteration of m6A regulatory genes, clinicopathological characteristics, and patient survival was performed using R language. The results suggest that alteration of m6A regulatory genes was correlated with clinical staging. Patients with high expression of ALKBH5, FTO, METTL14, WTAP, YTHDC1, YTHDF1, and YTHDF2 had poor overall survival (OS) than those with low expression. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that ALKBH5 and YTHDC2 were independent risk factors for OS. However, patients with high YTHDC2 expression had better OS. Moreover, according to machine learning results, YTHDC2 was found to be the most important gene among the 10 m6A regulators. Additionally, high expression of YTHDC2 was correlated with activation of apoptosis and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Here, we identified alterations to m6A regulatory genes in HNSCC for the first time and found that seven m6A regulators were associated with poor prognosis, especially ALKBH5, whereas YTHDC2 was associated with better prognosis. These m6A-related regulators could act as novel prognostic biomarkers for HNSCC. Our findings provide clues for understanding RNA epigenetic modifications in HNSCC.

Objective This study was performed to compare the intraoperative and postoperative courses of coblation tonsillectomy and coblation tonsillectomy with ties in adults. Methods All patients who underwent tonsillectomy from July 2012 to September 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Intraoperative and postoperative bleeding, pain, and return to normal food intake were compared between patients who underwent coblation tonsillectomy and those who underwent coblation tonsillectomy with ties. Results Of 515 patients, 300 (58.3%) underwent coblation tonsillectomy and 215 (41.7%) underwent coblation tonsillectomy with ties. Twenty-five (4.9%) patients developed postoperative hemorrhage, 22 (88.0%) of whom had undergone coblation tonsillectomy and 3 (12.0%) of whom had undergone coblation tonsillectomy with ties. Patients who underwent coblation tonsillectomy reported less pain than those who underwent coblation tonsillectomy with ties. Patients who underwent coblation tonsillectomy with ties resumed a normal diet significantly later than those who underwent coblation tonsillectomy (10.0 ± 3.2 vs. 8.2 ± 1.9 days, respectively). Conclusion Coblation tonsillectomy is associated with less intraoperative bleeding, a shorter surgery time, less postoperative pain, and fewer days to recovery of a normal diet than is coblation tonsillectomy with ties. However, coblation tonsillectomy with ties is associated with remarkably reduced postoperative hemorrhage.

This study aimed to investigate the value of the surgery of revised uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) on ambulatory blood pressure (BP) in obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients with hypertension and oropharyngeal obstruction. A retrospective cohort study was performed in 29 patients with OSAHS and hypertension, who received treatment with revised UPPP surgery. After surgery 1 month, the Apnea-hypopna index (AHI) and body mass index (BMI) significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and mini SpO(2) and mean SpO(2) increased than before (P < 0. 05), but the heart rate showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). In the meantime, compared to pretreatment, nighttime systolic SBP, nighttime diastolic DBP, morning systolic SBP, morning diastolic DBP, 24-h DBP, and 24-h SBP, decreased significantly (P < 0.05), but daytime SBP and daytime DBP showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). The results of this study indicated that the BP in the sleep apnea patients with hypertension might gradually decrease by revised UPPP surgery.