The importance of early treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma: Case report

The PTTG1/VASP axis promotes oral squamous cell carcinoma metastasis by modulating focal adhesion and actin filaments

The dynamics of focal adhesions (FAs) are essential physiological processes involved in cell spreading, metastasis, and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. FAs are complex structures comprising proteins, such as paxillin and zyxin, which interact with extracellular membranes and influence cell motility and morphology. Although related studies have been reported in various cancers, the function and molecular mechanisms of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unknown. We investigated the coordination between the actin cytoskeleton and FA proteins, specifically introducing pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 (PTTG1; also known as PTTG1 regulator of sister chromatid separation, securin) into OSCC. Furthermore, we explored the co-localization of several FAs and PTTG1 through small interfering RNA (siRNA) control or siRNA-vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) and -PTTG1, examining the mechanisms mediated by the induced changes in OSCC both in vitro and in vivo. The knockdown of VASP and PTTG1 regulates the dynamic actin cytoskeleton, restricting cell protrusion and motility from the front to the rear of OSCC cells. Our findings may provide new insights into how cells interact with each other on the surface of FAs in OSCC, influencing metastatic properties.

A strategy for synergistic enhancement of immune circulation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by novel nucleic acid drug therapy and immunotherapy

Studies have shown that in the pathogenesis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, immune circulation obstruction caused by various factors including metabolic abnormalities, gene mutations, and matrix barrier, is a critical factor for the induction of tumor development and progression. Therefore, the immunotherapy strategy of killing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells by an enhanced immune circulation mechanism has attracted much attention. In addition, the rapid development of new nucleic acid drug therapy, such as mRNA, oligonucleotide and small guide RNA (sgRNA), has taken immunotherapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (immune checkpoint inhibitors, tumor vaccines, cellular immunotherapy, cytokines and adjuvants, etc.) to a new level. The combination of nucleic acid therapy with immunotherapy developed for its therapeutic properties has brought a new direction for the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and the combination of the two has had considerable curative effect to patients with refractory/recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. In this review, we summarized the latest progress of nucleic acid therapy applied to conventional immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, discussed its mechanism of action and efficacy, and looked into the future development trend.

Survival outcomes and contributing factors in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran

Background

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most frequent oral cancer worldwide. Despite advances in OSCC treatment, the mortality rate has not decreased in recent years. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to assess the survival rate as a factor reflecting the quality aspects of care and background parameters that influence survival in patients with OSCC.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of 165 patients with OSCC who were registered in the Khuzestan cancer registry system in 2014 to 2018. The data were collected in two parts: demographic information and survival information. Demographic and background variables include age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, employment status, insurance status, and educational status. Survival information was also collected through phone calls to patients or their families. The survival rate of the patients was analyzed using the log-rank test and the influencing factors were analyzed with the Cox regression test.

Results

In this study, 165 patients, 43 women (26.1%) and 122 men (73.9%), with OSCC were included. The follow-up period of the patients was 5 years (2014-2019), during which 74 patients died. One, three, and five-year survival rates were 93.34%, 71.51%, and 44.84%, respectively. The results showed that age (χ2 = 4.410, p < 0.05) and employee status (χ2 = 10.205, p < 0.05) were associated with survival rate in OSCC patients based on the log-rank test results, while Cox regression analysis, after including all variables in the model and adjusting them, showed that all variables were not associated with survival rate (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Since all background factors were not associated with survival rate, efforts should continue to identify effective factors and investigate the relationship between survival and pathological factors such as recurrence status, distant metastasis, type of treatment, and involved organs.

Nanocarrier-based drug delivery system with dual targeting and NIR/pH response for synergistic treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is highly heterogeneous and aggressive, but therapies based on single-targeted nanoparticles frequently address these tumors as a single illness. To achieve more efficient drug transport, it is crucial to develop nanodrug-carrying systems that simultaneously target two or more cancer biomarkers. In addition, combining chemotherapy with near-infrared (NIR) light-mediated thermotherapy allows the thermal ablation of local malignancies via photothermal therapy (PTT), and triggers drug release to improve chemosensitivity. Thus, a novel dual-targeted nano-loading system, DOX@GO-HA-HN-1 (GHHD), was created for synergistic chemotherapy and PTT by the co-modification of carboxylated graphene oxide (GO) with hyaluronic acid (HA) and HN-1 peptide and loading with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Targeted delivery using GHHD was shown to be superior to single-targeted nanoparticle delivery. NIR radiation will encourage the absorption of GHHD by tumor cells and cause the site-specific release of DOX in conjunction with the acidic microenvironment of the tumor. In addition, chemo-photothermal combination therapy for cancer treatment was realized by causing cell apoptosis under the irradiation of 808-nm laser. In summary, the application of GHHD to chemotherapy combined with photothermal therapy for OSCC is shown to have important potential as a means of combatting the low accumulation of single chemotherapeutic agents in tumors and drug resistance generated by single therapeutic means, enhancing therapeutic efficacy.

A scientometric study of oral cancer research in South and Southeast Asia with emphasis on risk factors control

Background/purpose

South Asia and Southeast Asia are the regions with relatively high and increased disease burden of oral cancer. The purpose of this study was to analyze the scientometric characteristics of oral cancer research in these regions.

Materials and methods

There are 8 countries from South Asia and 11 countries from Southeast Asia. All the articles on oral cancer from these countries were retrieved in the Scopus database.

Results

A total of 5660 articles originated from South Asia (n = 4718) and Southeast Asia (n = 942). India (n = 4302; 91.2%) was the country publishing most articles on oral cancer in South Asia, and Malaysia (n = 355; 37.7%) was first in Southeast Asia. Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and areca nut as risk factors were common keywords, attention should be paid to them while developing polices for oral cancer control. In India, the most topic including distinctive keywords was diagnostics (sensitivity/specificity, saliva, and predictive value), followed by molecular biology (antioxidants, lipid peroxidation, and glutathione), experimental in vivo (hamster and cheek pouch), and risk factor (smokeless tobacco). In Malaysia, the most topic containing keywords was molecular biology followed by epidemiology and drug research.

Conclusion

This study for the first time reported the scientometric characteristics of oral cancer research in South Asia (India) and Southeast Asia (Malaysia). It is essential to improve the public awareness of risk factors control to reduce the oral cancer burden, especially in low-and middle-income countries.