Laryngeal Mucosal Lesions Research Articles

Peroperační využití potencované kontaktní endoskopie k hodnocení maligního potenciálu slizničních lézí hrtanu, validace ELS klasifikace

Summary Introduction: Enhanced contact endoscopy (ECE) – combination of contact endoscopy and NBI (narrow-band imaging) or IMAGE1 S, is a noninvasive optical technique used for assessment of superfi cial vascular changes of mucosal lesions in high magnifi cation. Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the dia gnostic value of ECE in an intraoperative settlement and validation of the ELS classifi cation. Methods: Patients with laryngeal lesions underwent direct laryngoscopy with a structured assessment of the lesion using white light, NBI and ECE. Lesions were classified according to the European Laryngological Society Classifi cation that divides the vascular pattern changes into longitudinal (unsuspicious) and perpendicular (suspicious). Evaluation was correlated with histopathology. Results: 60 patients with 76 lesions were enrolled. Sensitivity, specifi city, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy for NBI assessment reached 71.4%, 100%, 100%, 53.8% and 78.6%, resp.,  index of 0.556. Sensitivity, specifi city, PPV, NPV and accuracy for ECE reached 86.4%, 89.5%, 95.0%, 73.9% and 87.3%,  index of 0.716. Additional 20% (9/ 45) of the leukoplakias could be assessed with ECE compared to NBI. Conclusions: Our data support the assumption that ECE is a useful tool for pre-histological examination of mucosal lesions, however it cannot fully replace bio psy sampling. ECE shows higher accuracy in detecting malignant lesions compared to NBI and can be especially helpful in the assessment of vocal fold leukoplakia. Key words enhanced contact endoscopy – narrow-band imaging – laryngeal mucosal lesions – squamous cell carcinoma – leukoplakia

Expression and clinical significance of FGFR1 and FGFR2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BackgroundFibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) may be of significance in the development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) tissues. Examination of the expression results of these factors may offer new insights into treatment of the disease, such as genetic and histological targeted target therapy.MethodsWe selected tissue from 30 cases of laryngeal SCC, 23 cases of adjacent normal mucosa, and 26 cases of benign laryngeal mucosal tissues from patients who received surgery at the Otolaryngology Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College between September 2020 and January 2022. The laryngeal cancers included nine cases of supraglottic, 20 glottic (vocal cord), and one case of subglottic cancer, while all benign laryngeal mucosal lesions were obtained from vocal cord polyps. The expression of FGFR1 and FGFR2 was detected in 30 laryngeal cancers, 23 adjacent normal mucosa, and 26 vocal cord polyps by immunohistochemical technology [immunohistochemistry (IHC)], and the correlation analysis of their expression in laryngeal cancer was performed. P<0.05 was represented statistically significant.ResultsThe expression of FGFR1 and FGFR2 was significantly different in laryngeal SCC and the normal tissue >0.5 cm from the tumor margin (P<0.05), and between laryngeal SCC and vocal polyps (P<0.05). There was no difference in FGFR1 and FGFR2 expression (P>0.05) between normal mucosal margins and vocal cord polyp tissue, and no correlation between FGFR1 and FGFR2 in laryngeal SCC and sex, age, smoking history, alcohol consumption history, tumor diameter, tumor lymph node metastasis, tumor differentiation degree, and Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage (P>0.05), A moderate positive correlation between FGFR1 expression and FGFR2 expression in laryngeal SCC was seen (Rs=0.499, P<0.01).ConclusionsFGFR1 and FGFR2 may participate in the occurrence of SCC of the throat: (I) positive FGFR1 and FGFR2 expressions are not associated with gender, age, smoking history, alcohol consumption history, tumor diameter, lymph node metastasis, degree of differentiation, or TNM stage. (II) FGFR2 increases successively with higher FGFR1 expression and with a positive correlation in laryngeal SCC.

Diagnosis of Laryngeal Pemphigus Vulgaris Can Be Facilitated Using Advanced Endoscopic Methods.

Background: Isolated laryngeal pemphigus vulgaris (LPV) is rare; however, early diagnosis is crucial in determining its course and prognosis. This paper aims to describe mucosal vascular changes typical for LPV using advanced endoscopic methods, which include Narrow Band Imaging (NBI), IMAGE1-S video-endoscopy and enhanced contact endoscopy (ECE). Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of all laryngeal mucosal lesion examined using advanced endoscopic methods during 2018–2020 at tertiary hospital was performed. Results: Videolaryngoscopy examination records of 278 patients with laryngeal mucosal lesions were analyzed; three of them were diagnosed with LPV. Epithelial vascularization of LPV included specific pattern. Intraepithelial papillary capillary loops were symmetrically stratified and were organized into “contour-like lines”. This specific vascularization associated with LPV were different from other laryngeal mucosal pathologies. Conclusions: Using advanced endoscopic methods supports early diagnosis of LPV and accelerate the diagnosis and treatment.

Pharyngolaryngeal reflux – a new clinical entity?

In the past, pharyngolaryngeal reflux was considered a com­pli­cation of the gastroesophageal reflux disease. The gas­tro­esophageal reflux disease is a clinical entity be­long­ing to gastroenterology and it represents all the symp­toms due to reflux of the gastric content in the eso­pha­gus, whether or not accompanied by lesions of the eso­pha­geal mu­co­sa, being diagnosed and managed by the gastro­en­te­ro­logist. The pharyngolaryngeal reflux, known in the specialty literature as „the silent reflux“, is considered a distinct clinical entity, diagnosed and managed by the oto­la­ryn­go­lo­gist due to its specific symptoms caused by the as­cen­sion of the gastric content to the pharyngolaryngeal level, causing laryngeal mucosal lesions. The authors are focusing on establishing a diagnosis and treatment al­go­rithm for pharyngolaryngeal reflux, reviewing the sym­p­to­ma­to­logy and the impact of this pathology on the nor­mal anatomy and physiology of vocal tract structures, spe­ci­fi­cally on the differences between pharyngolaryngeal reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Endoscopic evidence of reflux disease in the larynx

Conclusion: The severity of laryngeal mucosal lesions in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is significantly greater than in controls. A higher degree of laryngeal mucosal injury is documented in patients in whom GERD is associated with more advanced esophageal lesions. Objectives: (1) To confirm the presence of inflammatory lesions in the laryngopharynx of patients with GERD. (2) To analyze the relationship between the severity of laryngopharyngeal and esophageal lesions on the basis of the reflux finding score (RFS) and the Los Angeles (LA) scale of esophageal mucosal injury. Methods: The study included 92 subjects, among them 46 patients with GERD and 46 individuals without endoscopic evidence of esophageal lesions, qualified for routine endoscopy due to other indications. The endoscopic images of the inferior pharynx, larynx, and esophagus were analyzed during the video-endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The laryngeal images were assessed according to RFS criteria and the numeric value of RFS was calculated. The degree of esophageal mucosal injury was described according to the LA scale. Results: Both global RFS score and the scores of all RFS parameters except the presence of granulomatous tissue were significantly higher in patients with GERD than in the controls. Patients in whom GERD was associated with more severe esophageal lesions (group B according to the LA scale) had significantly higher global RFS score and scores of all analyzed parameters of laryngeal injury except subglottic edema than individuals in whom the degree of esophageal involvement was classified as group A.

Liquid-based trans-epithelial flexible brush cytology of high-grade laryngeal mucosal lesions

Laryngeal cytology, which was popular in the 1950s and 60s, has lost its appeal due to difficulties in obtaining adequate specimens and frequent false negative results which are often associated with smears of suboptimal quality. Flexible laryngoscope and brushes, and liquid-based cytology (LBC) allow for improved collection and quality of laryngeal mucosal samples. In LBC the cells are optimally fixed and significantly retrieved. The samples are virtually devoid of air drying artefact and obscuring elements such as blood, mucus, necrotic debris and inflammation. The diagnostic accuracies of liquid-based transepithelial flexible brush cytological (LBTEFBC) samples and flexible biopsies (FB) were compared with those of biopsy under general anaesthesia (BUA) in 49 and 46 patients respectively. Cytology specimens were graded and scored using a recently proposed oral cytological grading and scoring system. When compared with BUA, the cytology showed 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity, and FB yielded 77.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Reactive/mildly dysplastic lesions can be discriminated from high-grade dysplasias/invasive squamous cell carcinomas with 100% sensitivity and specificity. LBTFBC is a simple, cost-effective, relatively atraumatic office-based procedure, and with the recently proposed classification, it can be accurate in the detection of high-grade laryngeal lesions.

Contact Endoscopy - A promising tool for evaluation of laryngeal mucosal lesions

Early diagnosis of laryngeal cancer is important for favourable treatment outcome. Due to morbidity and difficulties associated with surgical biopsy, a need has always been felt for an easy, non invasive yet accurate tool for knowing histopathological nature of mucosal lesions. Contact Endoscopy (CE) is one such technique which is capable of providing real time and magnified images of cellular structure of superficial layers of various mucosal surfaces with obvious advantages and potential for wide clinical application. In this review, a summary of role and efficacy of CE in diagnosis, treatment and follow up of various laryngeal mucosal lesions is presented. We searched Pubmed, Medline, Cochrane and Google scholar for articles on CE for mucosal lesions of larynx. For better understanding of the technique, articles on CE of other non-laryngeal sites of head and neck were also reviewed. Article selection was limited to human studies without restriction to language and year of publication. Reference lists from identified articles were also searched. Six prospective original articles, three descriptive studies and one review article on CE of laryngeal lesions are included in this review and their findings summarized. Common findings on examination of cellular architecture and vascular patterns described by various authors are also tabulated. The literature revealed high sensitivity (90-94.7%), specificity (81-100%) and accuracy (88-94%) of CE in diagnosis of laryngeal lesions across the published studies. CE is a promising non invasive tool for evaluation of laryngeal mucosal lesions. However, further prospective, randomized, double blinded studies as well as research to improve the technique to overcome the existing limitations are required before defining its precise role in clinical practice.

KTP Laser Safety and Efficacy in Benign Laryngeal Lesions

Objective: The potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser is increasingly used to treat polyps, granulomas, and similar laryngeal mucosal lesions and has been shown to be safe and effective in case series. In this study we introduce a method to quantify the safety and efficacy of the KTP laser in laryngeal procedures. Method: Pre-and post-KTP laser treatment videos were obtained from 3 institutions. The change in size of the laryngeal lesions was measured using a novel objective computerized method. A select number of videos were evaluated by blinded reviewers and rated for measures of safety. Results: More than 120 larynges underwent treatment for mucosal lesions including polyps, granulomas, and leukoplakia. Regardless of lesion type, there was a decrease in size based upon objective computer measurements, with all approaching or meeting statistical significance. Long-term follow-up was indicative of persistent lesion regression. Interrater reliability was good. Nineteen larynges were evaluated for safety based upon mucosal wave and glottic closure, with &gt;90% of evaluations reporting preservation or improvement. Internal validity was good. Conclusion: KTP laser in laryngeal mucosal lesions is safe and effective based upon our safety rating instrument and computerized lesion measurement system. This system can be reliably used as an objective measure of lesion of regression post therapy and for scientific evaluation of KTP laser efficacy in laryngeal procedures.

Diagnostik von refluxbedingten Beschwerden im HNO-Bereich mittels 2-Kanal-pH-Metrie

Patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may suffer from a large variety of symptoms in the upper aerodigestive tract such as globus sensation, chronic cough, hoarseness and many others. Diagnosis and causal therapy may sometimes be difficult with gastroenterologic evaluation sometimes revealing no pathologic result. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of 24-hour intraesophageal pH monitoring with 2 channels (gastric and laryngeal) in the diagnosis of reflux-induced otolaryngologic disorders. This study included 22 patients presenting to the Department of Otolaryngology with symptoms like chronic cough (n = 3), globus sensation and dysphagia (n = 11), heartburn (n = 2), hoarseness and dysphonia (n = 2) or burning sensation of the tongue (n = 1). Three patients had a pathologic formation in the glottic area (leukoplakia, granuloma, polyp). All patients underwent a otolaryngological examination, a gastroenterological investigation and a 24-hour intraesophageal pH monitoring with 2 channels. All 22 patients showed laryngeal mucosal lesions (posterior laryngitis). The gastroenterological evaluation with esophagogastroduodenoscopy was normal in 4 cases. 13 patients showed a hiatal hernia, 4 patients were suffering from a reflux-esophagitis grade I and 2 patients from grade II. One patient had an erythema and 5 patients showed erosions of the gastric mucosa. Seven patients had more than one of the above mentioned diagnoses. Intraesophageal pH-monitoring with 2 channels over 24 hours revealed a gastroesophageal reflux of all 22 patients and a high reflux to the laryngeal level of 21 patients, probably causing laryngopharyngeal symptoms. Therapy of the patients consisted of medical antireflux treatment with proton pump inhibitor esomeprazol (Nexium, 40 mg, 1-0-0). Within 4 weeks 15 of 22 patients had no more laryngopharyngeal symptoms or at least a significant reduction. Patients with laryngopharyngeal symptoms such as hoarseness, globus sensation or dysphagia can suffer from GERD, even if typical symptoms such as heartburn or retrosternal pain do not exist and gastroesophageal intervention reveals a normal result. The best diagnostic instrument for the diagnosis of reflux-induced otolaryngologic disorders is a 24-hour intraesophageal pH-monitoring with 2 channels (measure-points at the distal esophagus and laryngeal level). Medical antireflux treatment should consist of proton pump inhibitors (e. g. Nexium) in a dose of 40 mg per day over at least 4 weeks.

The Role of Allergy in the Etiopathogenesis of Laryngeal Mucosal Lesions

HoČwar-Boltežar I, Radšel Z, Žargi M. The role of allergy in the etiopathogenesis of laryngeal mucosal lesions. Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh) 1997; Suppl 527: 134-137.The results of this study showed that allergy is an important factor in the etiopathogenesis of laryngeal mucosal lesions. Despite adequate treatment, no other Unfavourable factors appeared to have significant influence on the results of the treatment. It seems that hypersensitivity to different inhalatory and nutritional allergens make laryngeal mucosa more susceptible for adverse action of other factors: vocal misuse, gastroesophageal reflux (GER), smoking, irritants in the surrounding microclimate, endocrinologic disorders, etc. Acting together, all these factors cause the development of laryngeal mucosal lesions. In the treatment of noninfectious laryngitis, vocal cord nodules, polyps or Reinke's edema. all the stated adverse factors shoula be identified and suitably diminished or eliminated. Allergy (Ig-E-mediated and non-IgE-mediated) should be considered as only one of the etiopdthogenetic factors.