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Biomedical subjects

Hans E Eckel

Publications and source records attributed to Hans E Eckel.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Expression of p16 protein identifies a distinct entity of tonsillar carcinomas associated with human papillomavirus.

Recent analyses of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas revealed frequent infections by oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 in tonsillar carcinomas. Concerning involvement of risk factors, clinical course of the disease, and prognosis there are strong indications arguing that the HPV-positive tonsillar carcinomas may represent a separate tumor entity. Looking for a surrogate marker, which in further epidemiological studies could replace the laborious and expensive HPV detection and typing we analyzed p16 protein expression in 34 tonsillar carcinoma for correlation to HPV status and load of viral DNA. p16 has been shown to be of diagnostic value for clinical evaluation of cervical dysplasia. We found 53% of the tested tonsillar carcinomas to be HPV-positive. Fifty-six percent of all tumors tested were immunohistochemically positive for the p16 protein. In 16 of 18 of the HPV-positive carcinomas diffuse p16 expression was observed. In contrast, only one of the HPV-negative carcinomas showed focal p16 staining (P < 0.001). As determined by laser-assisted microdissection and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, p16 expression correlated with the presence of HPV-DNA in the individual tumor specimens. Clinical outcome analysis revealed significant correlation of p16 expression with increased disease-free survival (P = 0.02). These data indicate that p16 is a technically simple immunohistological marker, applicable for routine pathological histology, and its prognostic value for survival is fully equivalent to HPV-DNA detection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Olfactory changes at threshold and suprathreshold levels following septoplasty with partial inferior turbinectomy.

Partial inferior turbinectomy with septoplasty is routinely carried out for airway obstruction. However, its effects on the sense of smell have not been systematically evaluated. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the influence of septoplasty with partial inferior turbinectomy on threshold and suprathreshold olfactory acuity. The subjects were 30 patients undergoing septoplasty including partial inferior turbinectomy. Olfactory function was determined by the "Sniffin' Sticks," which allow the assessment of odor thresholds, odor discrimination, and odor identification. The patients rated both olfactory function and nasal airflow using visual analog scales. Nasal airflow was measured by anterior rhinomanometry. Multivariate analyses of variance for repeated measures were used to analyze the results before and after surgery (mean interval, 9.1 weeks). After operation, 87% of the patients had increased airflow, 80% had improved olfactory function in terms of odor identification, and in 70% odor discrimination was found to be improved - but only 54% had improved olfactory function in terms of odor thresholds. Surgery increased ratings of nasal airflow in 93%, and those of olfactory function in 77% (p < .001). Similarly, bilateral inspiratory nasal flow increased (p < .001) and olfactory function was improved (p < .001) after surgical treatment. However, this increase was most pronounced for suprathreshold tests, while it was moderate for odor thresholds (interaction "surgery" x "olfactory test," p = .001). The present investigation suggests that septoplasty in combination with inferior turbinectomy has a beneficial effect on olfaction, mainly on suprathreshold olfactory functions. This effect may be partly due to interactions between the increased perception of nasal airflow and cognitive factors involved in olfactory sensitivity. According to the present results and data from the literature, a moderate decrease of olfactory function appears to occur in as many as 20% of patients. However, anosmia seems to be an extremely rare complication of septoplasty and partial turbinectomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Human papillomavirus-positive tonsillar carcinomas: a different tumor entity?

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are thought to be one of the causal factors in the development of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), particularly in tumors arising from the Waldeyer's tonsillar ring. We screened 98 carefully stratified HNSCC and different control tissues for the presence of HPV DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific for genital- and Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV)-associated HPVs and by HPV16-specific single step PCR. Typing was performed by direct sequencing and/or sequencing of cloned amplimers. On average HNSCC showed rather low HPV DNA prevalences; 18% of the oral cavity cancers, 8% of nasopharyngeal cancers, 25% of hypopharyngeal cancers and 7% of laryngeal cancers were HPV DNA positive. In contrast, HPV sequences could be detected in 45% of the oropharyngeal cancers, particularly tonsillar carcinomas (58%). Tonsillar carcinomas were significantly more likely to be HPV positive than tumors from any other site ( P<0.001). All tonsillar cancers contained oncogenic HPV types, predominantly HPV16 (13 of 14; 93%). Unaffected tonsils were available from two of these patients, but both tested negative for HPV DNA. Furthermore, no HPV DNA could be found in tonsillar biopsy specimens from control groups. Localization and load of HPV DNA was determined in HPV16-positive tonsillar carcinomas, their metastases and in unaffected mucosa using laser-assisted microdissection and subsequent real time fluorescence PCR. We demonstrated that the HPV genome is located in the cancer cells, whereas the infection of normal mucosa is a rare event. Quantification of HPV16 DNA in samples of seven patients yielded viral loads from 6 to 153 HPV DNA copies per beta-globin gene copy and the load values in both locations were roughly comparable. These loads are comparable with data shown for other HPV-associated lesions. Statistical evaluation of data related to clinicopathological parameters showed a significant correlation of the HPV positivity of tonsillar carcinomas with tumor grading ( P=0.008) and alcohol consumption ( P=0.029). Taken together our findings show a preferential association of HPV DNA with tonsillar carcinomas. Furthermore our results argue for HPV-positive tonsillar carcinomas representing a separate tumor entity, which is less dependent on conventional HNSCC risk factors.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed2002

Intranasal volume and olfactory function.

The aim of this exploratory study was to identify the volume intranasal segments as they relate to parameters of olfactory function. Fifty healthy male volunteers (age range 22-59 years, mean age 28.5 years) were included. Olfactory function was measured by lateralized phenyl ethyl alcohol odor thresholds and odor discrimination, and by bilateral odor identification. Magnetic resonance imaging of the nasal cavity was performed immediately following olfactometry. To correlate the results of olfactometry with intranasal volume, each nasal cavity was divided into 11 segments. Significant correlations were found between the odor thresholds and volumes of the anterior part of the lower and upper meatus of the right nasal cavity. These results reveal that two nasal segments are important for inter-individual differences of odor thresholds in healthy subjects: (i) the segment in the upper meatus below the cribriform plate and (ii) the anterior segment of the inferior meatus. The latter finding is of special interest for nasal surgery, which allows modification of this volume through resection of the inferior turbinate and/or septoplasty.

Adult↗