The article of the month in this month’s edition of The Journal of Laryngology & Otology is by Hoenle et al.Reference Hoenle, Rickert, Steinhart and Lorenz1 This population-based cohort study aimed to test whether sex independently predicts survival in oropharyngeal cancer or whether apparent sex differences are actually mediated by human papilloma virus (HPV) status. Their study suggests that the apparent survival advantage and/or disadvantage sometimes attributed to sex in oropharyngeal cancer is not an independent effect and is explained by the fact that HPV-positive tumours are more common in men. This is contrary to what some other published studies suggest.Reference Li, Park, Osborn and Judson2, Reference Preissner, Nahles, Preissner, Heiland and Koerdt3
We also present evidence from Ho et al. on the management of rheumatoid arthritis affecting the cricoarytenoid joint.Reference Ho, Eraky, Shaari, Adibemma, Zaki and Yan4 The management of this rare but potentially life-threatening complication of the condition may include surgery,Reference Su, Liu and Hsu5 injectionReference Habib6 or corticosteroids,Reference Leicht, Harrington and Davis7 and the literature describing its management is limited to case reports and small series. Their systematic review shows that the use of surgery increases the likelihood of successful decannulation compared to medical management alone.
Lastly, we feature a comparison of olfactory outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery and dupilumab.Reference Saito, Hirose, Haruna and Tsuzuki8 This retrospective study demonstrates that both treatments offer comparable olfactory improvement. This finding is in keeping with other recent evidence for the use of dupilumab in chronic rhinosinusitis.Reference Kamiński, Ochab, Flaga, Łacwik, Jasikowska and Pałczyński9, Reference Sima, Zhang, Zheng, Zhao, Wang and Zhang10
STEPHEN JONES
ANN-LOUISE MCDERMOTT
JONATHAN FISHMAN
Senior Editors
