Objective: Tumours of the nasal septum are a rare and heterogeneous group of lesions in the sinonasal tract. The management of the different lesions of this site is debated. The aim of this study is to share our experience on a rare clinical condition and stimulate other centres to publish theirs. Methods: We retrospectively analysed the databases of sinonasal tumours treated at the Sections of Otolaryngology (ENT) of two University Hospitals (Palermo and Genova) between 2012 and 2020. Results: From the two databases, a cohort of 32 patients with tumours of nasal septum were selected. All patients underwent an endoscopic examination. Large tumours underwent preoperative computed tomography (CT) scan without contrast medium. In 22 (68.7%) cases, the preoperative radiologic evaluation also included magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with gadolinium to obtain a better differentiation of the lesions and study the vascular pattern. All the large lesions were biopsied under endoscopic guidance using local anaesthesia; the same approach was used to remove the tumours and their attachment with safe resection margins. Conclusions: While malignant lesions require an excision of the mass with resection of all layers of the nasal septum, benign lesions must be typed according to histological considerations in order to plan the most appropriate type of surgical resection.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a poor clinical outcome despite the presence of a rich CD8+ T cell tumor infiltrate in the majority of patients. This may be due to alterations of tumor infiltrating CD8+ T cells. Here, we performed a characterization of HNSCC infiltrating CD8+ T cells in a cohort of 30 patients. The results showed that differential intratumoral frequency of CD8+CD28+ T cells, CD8+CD28− T cells, and CD8+CD28−CD127−CD39+ Treg distinguished between HNSCC patients who did or did not respond to treatment. Moreover, high PD1 expression identified a CD8+CD28− T cell subpopulation, phenotypically/functionally corresponding to CD8+CD28−CD127−CD39+ Treg, which showed a high expression of markers of exhaustion. This observation suggests that development of exhaustion and acquisition of regulatory properties may configure the late differentiation stage for intratumoral effector T cells, a phenomenon we define as effector-to-regulatory T cell transition.

Background: Tracheoesophageal puncture with a voice prosthesis is the gold standard for speech rehabilitation in patients that receive a laryngopharyngectomy. However, a novel surgical technique, using a tubularized anterolateral tight flap, named “J-flap,” has been demonstrated to produce adequate voice restoration. We aimed to compare the outcomes and the quality of life of patients who underwent voice rehabilitation with both techniques. Methods: We enrolled patients that underwent laryngopharyngectomy and voice restoration surgery. The control group received a tracheoesophageal puncture with a voice prosthesis, while the study group received J-flap reconstruction. A total of 20 patients received voice prosthesis rehabilitation, while 18 received J-flap reconstruction. Speech and vocal outcomes and quality of life metrics were collected. Results: The objective phonatory performances and the acoustic voice analysis did not outline a significant difference. Speech pathologists judged the consonant pronunciation in the J-flap group as less accurate (p < 0.001). The voice handicap index revealed a moderate impairment for the J-flap group (p < 0.001). Quality of life scores were higher for the voice prosthesis group. Conclusion: Voice prostheses and J-flaps share similar objective phonatory outcomes. Quality of life was more impaired in the J-flap group. In our view, these two techniques possess complementary characteristics in clinical practice, taking into account health care system regulations and patients’ social background.

A recent study reported that the occurrence of depapillated mucosa surrounding oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC) is associated with perineural invasion (PNI). The present study evaluates the reliability of depapillation as a PNI predictor and how it could affect narrow-band imaging (NBI) performance. This is thus a retrospective study on patients affected by OTSCC submitted to radical surgery. The preoperative endoscopy was evaluated to identify the presence of depapillation. Differences in distribution between depapillation and clinicopathological variables were analyzed. NBI vascular patterns were reported, and the impact of depapillation on those was studied. We enrolled seventy-six patients. After evaluation of the preoperative endoscopies, 40 (53%) patients had peritumoral depapillation, while 59 (78%) had a positive NBI pattern. Depapillation was strongly correlated to PNI, 54% vs. 28% (p = 0.022). Regarding the NBI pattern, there was no particular association with depapillation-associated tumors. The presence of depapillation did not affect the intralesional pattern detected by the NBI, while no NBI-positive pattern was found in the depapillation area. Finally, the NBI-guided resection margins were not affected by depapillation. Peritumoral depapillation is a reliable feature for PNI in OTSCC. NBI margin detection is not impaired by depapillation.

The last name of Pamela Dela Cruz was unfortunately published as P. D. Cruz instead of P. Dela Cruz. This error has now been corrected.