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Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), as one of the common malignant tumors, seriously threatens human health. NEK6 (Never in Mitosis A (NIMA) related kinases 6), as a cyclin, promotes cancer cell proliferation and cancer progression. However, the prognostic value of NEK6 and its correlation with immune cell infiltration in HNSCC remain unclear. In this study, we comprehensively elucidated the prognostic role and potential function of NEK6 expression in HNSCC. The expression of NEK6 was significantly up-regulated by immunohistochemistry in HNSCC. Upregulation of NEK6 expression in gene expression studies predicts poor prognosis in HNSCC patients. The results of Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene set variation analysis indicated that NEK6 is mainly involved in extracellular matrix metabolism and EMT processes. The expression of NEK6 increased with the level of immune cell infiltration and the expression of various immune checkpoints. In conclusion, NEK6 may serve as a candidate prognostic predictor and may predict the response of HNSCC patients to immunotherapy.

Background and objectives: Pheochromocytoma and adrenal adenoma are common space-occupying lesions of the adrenal gland, and incorrect surgery may lead to adrenal crisis. We used a new method, dual-energy spectral detector computed tomography (SDCT), to differentiate between the two. Materials and methods: We analysed the imaging images of patients with SDCT scans and pathologically confirmed adrenal adenomas (n=70) and pheochromocytomas (n=15). The 40, 70, and 100 KeV virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) were reconstructed based on the SCDT arterial phase, and the correlation between the arterial/venous phase iodine concentration (AP-IC/VPIC), the effective atomic number (Z-effect), the slope of the Hounsfield unit attenuation plot (VMI slope) and the pathological results was tested. The Shapiro--Wilk test was used to determine whether the above data conformed to a normal distribution. For parameters with P greater than 0.05, Student's t test was used, and the Mann--Whitney testwas used for the remaining parameters. A ROCcurve was drawn based on the results. Results: Student's t test showed that the 40 KeV VMI and the VMI slope were both statistically significant (P<0.01). The Mann--Whitney U test showed that ID-A was statistically significant (P=0.004). ROC curve analysis showed that 40 keV VMI (AUC=0.818), AP-IC (AUC=0.736), difference (AUC=0.817) and VMISlope (0.817) could be used to differentiate adrenal adenoma from pheochromocytoma. Conclusion: The effect of lipid components on SDCT parameters can be used to differentiate adrenal adenoma from pheochromocytoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]