BACKGROUND The presence or absence of metastatic disease in cervical lymph nodes is the single most important determinant of therapy and prognosis for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, histologic examination fails to detect metastatic disease in a subset of neck dissection specimens. The accuracy of neck staging may be improved by the use of molecular techniq...

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), the cause of self-limiting acute hepatitis in humans, is widespread and endemic in many parts of the world. The foodborne transmission of HEV has become of concern due to the identification of undercooked pork products as a risk factor for infection. Foodborne enteric viruses are conventionally processed by quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR), which gives sensitive and quanti...

Expression of the metallothionein (MT) gene in frozen human lymphocytes has been developed as a new molecular biomarker of heavy metal exposure. Workers at a Polish battery factory with high exposure to cadmium were monitored for airborne exposure and blood cadmium levels. A novel quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) technique, making use of a homologous internal standard, was used t...