Faculty Opinions recommendation of Meta-analysis of chemotherapy in head and neck cancer (MACH-NC): an update on 93 randomised trials and 17,346 patients.

DNA hypermethylation is an important epigenetic mechanism for gene expression inactivation in head and neck cancer (HNC). Saliva has emerged as a novel liquid biopsy representing a potential source of biomarkers. We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate the overall diagnostic accuracy of salivary DNA methylation for detecting HNC. PubMed EMBASE, Web of Science, LILACS, and the Cochrane Library were searched. Study quality was assessed by the Quality Assessment for Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy-2, and sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (dOR), and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a bivariate random-effect meta-analysis model. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were performed to assess heterogeneity. Eighty-four study units from 18 articles with 8368 subjects were included. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of salivary DNA methylation were 0.39 and 0.87, respectively, while PLR and NLR were 3.68 and 0.63, respectively. The overall area under the curve (AUC) was 0.81 and the dOR was 8.34. The combination of methylated genes showed higher diagnostic accuracy (AUC, 0.92 and dOR, 36.97) than individual gene analysis (AUC, 0.77 and dOR, 6.02). These findings provide evidence regarding the potential clinical application of salivary DNA methylation for HNC diagnosis.

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Incidence of Oral Mucositis in Patients Undergoing Head and Neck Cancer Treatment: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Medical Sciences Forum ◽

10.3390/msf2021005023 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 23

Author(s):

Raquel Pacheco ◽

Maria Alzira Cavacas ◽

Paulo Mascarenhas ◽

Pedro Oliveira ◽

Carlos Zagalo

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Head And Neck Cancer ◽

Oral Health ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Head And Neck ◽

Neck Cancer ◽

Oral Mucositis ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Incidence Rates

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the literature about the incidence of oral mucositis and its degrees (mild, moderate, and severe), in patients undergoing head and neck cancer treatment (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery). Addressing this issue is important since oral mucositis has a negative impact on oral health and significantly deteriorates the quality of life. Therefore, a multidisciplinary team, including dentists, should be involved in the treatment. The overall oral mucositis incidence was 89.4%. The global incidence for mild, moderate, and severe degrees were 16.8%, 34.5%, and 26.4%, respectively. The high incidence rates reported in this review point out the need for greater care in terms of the oral health of these patients.

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Clinical significance of tumor-stroma ratio in head and neck cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMC Cancer ◽

10.1186/s12885-021-08222-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alhadi Almangush ◽

Rasheed Omobolaji Alabi ◽

Giuseppe Troiano ◽

Ricardo D. Coletta ◽

Tuula Salo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Head And Neck Cancer ◽

Head And Neck ◽

Clinical Significance ◽

Neck Cancer ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Tumor Stroma ◽

Free Survival ◽

Hematoxylin And Eosin ◽

Meta Analyses

Abstract Background The clinical significance of tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) has been examined in many tumors. Here we systematically reviewed all studies that evaluated TSR in head and neck cancer. Methods Four databases (Scopus, Medline, PubMed and Web of Science) were searched using the term tumo(u)r-stroma ratio. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) were followed. Results TSR was studied in nine studies of different subsites (including cohorts of nasopharyngeal, oral, laryngeal and pharyngeal carcinomas). In all studies, TSR was evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Classifying tumors based on TSR seems to allow for identification of high-risk cases. In oral cancer, specifically, our meta-analysis showed that TSR is significantly associated with both cancer-related mortality (HR 2.10, 95%CI 1.56–2.84) and disease-free survival (HR 1.84, 95%CI 1.38–2.46). Conclusions The assessment of TSR has a promising prognostic value and can be implemented with minimum efforts in routine head and neck pathology.

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