Stereotactic radiotherapy as planned boost after definitive radiotherapy for head and neck cancers: Systematic review

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Stereotactic radiotherapy as planned boost after definitive radiotherapy for head and neck cancers: Systematic review Via Head & Neck Abstract Management of locoregionally advanced head and neck cancers (HNCs) remains a challenge. Some groups have attempted to use stereotactic radiotherapy (SBRT) to deliver "boost" treatment following conventional radiotherapy to improve local control (LC) and overall survival (OS), while aiming for acceptable toxicities. Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were queried for SBRT as curative-intent planned boost in HNC after conventional radiotherapy. Individual studies were reviewed from inception until January 2021, extracting patient, treatment, and outcome data. Nine studies met inclusion criteria, representing 454 unique patients treated with curative intent across multiple head and neck sites with conventional radiotherapy. At 3 years, median LC was 92% (90%–98%), and median OS was 80% (75%–91%). Seven treatment-related grade 5 toxicities (1.5%) were reported. Despite acceptable LC and OS rates, there were severe treatment-related late toxicities. As such, SBRT boost should only be used in investigational settings until more data is available. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

A multi-centred sequential trial comparing PEGASUS, an intervention to promote shared decision making about breast reconstruction with usual care

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader A multi-centred sequential trial comparing PEGASUS, an intervention to promote shared decision making about breast reconstruction with usual care Via Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Nov 15:S1748-6815(21)00577-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.033. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Decision making about breast reconstruction (BR) is complex. The Patients' Expectations and Goals: Assisting Shared Understanding of Surgery (PEGASUS) intervention aims to support shared decision making by helping women and clinicians clarify and discuss their expectations around reconstructive surgery. We conducted a multi-centred sequential trial comparing PEGASUS (n = 52) with usual care (UC) (n = 86) in women considering reconstruction, who completed outcome measures at baseline, and 3, 6 and 12 months post-surgery. The primary outcome was BR-specific quality of life (Breast-Q) 6 months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L), capabilities (ICECAP-A) and decisional regret, compared using t-tests and Cohen's d. Comparative analyses revealed no significant diff erences between groups in Breast-Q scores at any time point, except for a favourable effect for UC on psychological well-being at 3 months (t = -2.41, p = .019, d= -0.59). Intervention participants reported significantly higher, therefore improved, ICECAP-A (t = -2.13, p = .037, d = -0.45) and EQ VAS (t = -2.28, p = .026, d = -0.49) scores at 12 months compared to UC. Decisional regret was significantly lower in the PEGASUS group compared to the UC group at 6 months (t =2.06, p = .044, d= -0.51), but this was not sustained at 12 months. In conclusion, the PEGASUS intervention offers some benefits to women considering BR. At times, women experienced less decisional regret, improved health-related quality of life and capability well-being. Findings are discussed in the light of fidelity testing and embedding PEGASUS into practice. PMID:34924325 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.033 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Assessment of deep inferior epigastric perforator flap perfusion with near-infrared fluorescence: A pilot study and description of a standardized working protocol

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Assessment of deep inferior epigastric perforator flap perfusion with near-infrared fluorescence: A pilot study and description of a standardized working protocol Via Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Nov 16:S1748-6815(21)00590-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.043. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Fat necrosis (FN) is a common complication after autologous breast reconstruction (ABR) using a free flap, which can influence reconstruction outcome and patient satisfaction. Intraoperative near-infrared fluorescence imaging using indocyanine green (ICG) permits the visualization of flap perfusion. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of near-infrared fluorescence on FN incidence in patients undergoing an ABR with a deep inferior epigastric perforator flap (DIEP) and to propose a standard working protocol for this technique. In this prospective study, patients undergoing one-sided ABR with a DIEP were included. The standard DIEP procedure was complemented with near-infrared fluorescence imaging using the fluorescent tracer ICG to evaluate flap perfusion. This cohort was compared to a retrospectiv e cohort of DIEP procedures without near-infrared fluorescence imaging. Patients and surgery characteristics, as well as postoperative complications, were registered and compared. In both cohorts, 24 patients were included. No significant differences were present between patients and surgery characteristics, including no difference in duration of surgery. In the prospective and retrospective group, the incidence of FN was 4.2% and 33%, respectively (p-value = 0.023). Moreover, microsurgeons were positive about using near-infrared fluorescence as it either provided additional information about perfusion or confirmed the clinical assessment. Our pilot study showed a significant decrease of FN in patients undergoing an ABR with a DIEP when near-infrared fluorescence imaging was used to assess flap perfusion. This study provides a standardized working protocol for near-infrared fluorescence imaging. In the future, large multicenter studies should focus on the quantification of near-infr ared fluorescence imaging. PMID:34924327 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.043 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Preliminary experience using the VITOM-3D system for microvascular anastomosis in DIEP free flap breast reconstruction

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Preliminary experience using the VITOM-3D system for microvascular anastomosis in DIEP free flap breast reconstruction Via Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Dec 3:S1748-6815(21)00644-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.099. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Free tissue transfer has become routine practice in modern plastic surgery. The technique permits surgeons the flexibility to transfer the most suitable tissue for reconstruction. This has become possible largely due to the continued advances in microscope technology. There are however several drawbacks with even the newest traditional operating microscopes. They are usually large, heavy and although highly adjustable often require surgeons to adopt an unnatural and uncomfortable position which many of us have simply learned to live with. We describe the use of a new high-definition 3D camera system (Stortz VITOM 3D) in place of a traditional microscope to perform DIEP flap breast reconstructions in two patients. The use of this equipment has been described in other surgical specialities where a number of it s benefits, including improved ergonomics for surgical team, have been highlighted. We explore the specific benefits and considerations for its use in free flap reconstruction of the breast . PMID:34924322 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.099 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Efficacy of Endoscopic Posterior Nasal Neurectomy in Treating Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Efficacy of Endoscopic Posterior Nasal Neurectomy in Treating Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis Via O.R.L. Journal for oto-rhino-laryngology and its borderlands Objectives: Recent guidelines have revealed that eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) exhibits a strong tendency for recurrence after surgery and impairs quality of life. Neuropeptides play an important neuroimmunological role. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of posterior nasal neurectomy (PNN) for the treatment of ECRS by inhibiting type 2 cytokine expression. Methods: Forty-six patients were divided into group A and group B according to a ran dom number table. Group A underwent conventional functional endoscopic sinusitis surgery (FESS) combined with PNN, and group B underwent conventional FESS alone. The subjective and objective symptoms included a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS), 22-item SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) score, nasal speculum Lund-Kennedy score, and paranasal sinus computed tomography (CT) Lund-Mackay score at the 1-year postoperative follow-up. Results: Postoperative VAS (10.33 ± 2.18 vs. 8.38 ± 2.11, p #x3c; 0.01) and Lund-Kennedy score (1.95 ± 1.32 vs. 3.14 ± 1.35, p #x3c; 0.01) were significantly improved. The rhinorrhea score (1.76 ± 0.83 vs. 2.90 ± 1.14, p #x3c; 0.001) in the VAS and the discharge (0.43 ± 0.51, vs. 0.95 ± 0.67, p #x3c; 0.01) and edema (0.57 ± 0.60 vs. 0.95 ± 0.59, p #x3c; 0.05) scores in the Lund-Kennedy score were observed to have improved significantly in group A compared with those in group B. Conclusions: FESS combined with PNN suppresses edema symptoms, which might significantly decrease the surgical recurrence rate of ECRS in the long term. ORL View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Three-dimensional cell culture for the study of nasal polyps

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Three-dimensional cell culture for the study of nasal polyps Via Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Nov 26:S1808-8694(21)00191-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bjorl.2021.11.001. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES: Three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures have many applications such as stem cell biology research, new drug discovery, cancer, and Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP). This disease is characterized by a significant impact on quality of life and productivity. The diversity of factors that act in the progression of CRSwNP point to the creation of a cell culture model that allows the integration of different cell types with extracellular matrix. This work aimed to create a cell culture model in 3 dimensions (spheroids) for the study of Nasal Polyposis. METHODS: Nasal polyp tissue from patients diagnosed with CRSwNP was mechanically dissociated using tweezers and a scalpel and the solution containing cells and small aggregates of nasal polyps was transferred to a Petri dish containing 5 mL of culture medium at the concentration of 106 cells/mL. RESULTS: The spheroids were cultivated for 20 days, fixed and analyzed using confocal microscopy. In a 3D culture environment, the spheroids were formed both by clustering cells and from small tissue fragments. In the cultures analyzed, the ciliary beat was present from the dissociation of the cells up to 20 days in culture. CONCLUSION: Our findings also point to these characteristics showing the environment generated in our study, the cells remained differentiated for a longer time and with ciliary beating. Thus, this work shows that nasal polyp-derived cells can be maintained in a 3D environment, enabling better strategies for understanding CRSwNP in situations similar to those found in vivo. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Laboratory studies. PMID:34924329 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjorl.2021.11.001 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

A prospective pilot study on the effects of endoscopic sinus surgery on upper and lower airway performance

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader A prospective pilot study on the effects of endoscopic sinus surgery on upper and lower airway performance Via Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2021 Dec;41(6):544-549. doi: 10.14639/0392-100X-N1361. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: The relationship between chronic rhinosinusitis, asthma and allergic rhinitis is well known, but only recently has the scientific community started to evaluate these as different manifestations of a common pathogenic phenomenon, considering them as a unified airway disease. METHODS: Twenty-two patients with chronic rhinosinusitis treated with endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) were included in the study. Sino-nasal assessment questionnaire (SNAQ) investigating subjective evaluation of sino-nasal state was administered to patients, while objective evaluations included nasal endoscopy, sinonasal CT, skin prick tests, nasal cytology, spirometry, bronchodilator responsiveness testing and sputum eosinophil count. All tests were performed before surgery. Two months after surgery, SNAQ questionnaire, nasal endoscopy, spirometry and bronchodilator responsiveness testing were repeated. RESULTS: All patients had significant improvement of subjective status: mean SNAQ score decreased in all from 99.31 to 16.04. Mean Forced Expiratory Volume in the 1st second (FEV1) significantly improved after surgery from 3.23 to 3.45 L/s. CONCLUSIONS: ESS achieved a beneficial effect on upper and lower airway status in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with or without lower airway diseases. PMID:34928265 | DOI:10.14639/0392-100X-N1361 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Management of cochlear fistula and the role of hearing: a five-case report

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Management of cochlear fistula and the role of hearing: a five-case report Via Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2021 Dec;41(6):558-565. doi: 10.14639/0392-100X-N1237. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Cochlear fistula (CF) is a rare finding, usually associated with extensive middle ear cholesteatoma. There is agreement on the fact that removing the cholesteatoma matrix on a CF exposes the ear to a high risk of sensorineural hearing loss or dead ear. The aim of the study is to describe the presentation, possible treatment strategies and related outcomes for patients with CF in chronic otitis media (COM). METHODS: The study considers a retrospective case series of patients with CF diagnosis supported by CT-scan and intraoperative/otoscopic evidence. RESULTS: Five cases of CF were identified, 4 associated with cholesteatoma and 1 associated with non-cholesteatomatous COM. Two patients presenting with anacusis underwent a subtotal petrosectomy. Two patients with useful hearing underwent a radical mastoidectomy in order to preserve the cholesteatoma matrix on the promontorium. One patient with good hearing and COM was treated conservatively. CONCLUSIONS: Conservative management should be considered for rare cases of CF in COM with residual hearing. Matrix preservation through radical/modified radical mastoidectomy is strongly advised in the presence of useful preoperative bone conduction. Subtotal petrosectomy should be considered the preferred option in presence of cholesteatoma with preoperative profound hearing loss. PMID:34928267 | DOI:10.14639/0392-100X-N1237 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Microscopic Extrathyroidal Extension Results in Increased Rate of Tumor Recurrence and Is an Independent Predictor of Patient's Outcome in Middle Eastern Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Microscopic Extrathyroidal Extension Results in Increased Rate of Tumor Recurrence and Is an Independent Predictor of Patient's Outcome in Middle Eastern Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Via radioactive iodine Front Oncol. 2021 Dec 1;11:724432. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.724432. eCollection 2021. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Papillary Thyroid Cancer (PTC) is the most common endocrine malignancy, with recurrence rate as high as 30%. A great deal of controversy surrounds the significance of microscopic extrathyroidal extension (m-ETE) as a prognostic factor. The most recent edition (8th) of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system has removed m-ETE from the definition of pT3 , which suggests that m-ETE may lack prognostic impact in PTC patients. Moreover, data about m-ETE prevalence and clinical impact on Middle Eastern PTC remains unknown. We therefore investigate the prevalence of m-ETE and its clinico-pathological correlation and prognostic impact in Middle Eastern PTC. We also compared the AJCC 7th and 8th staging systems and their prognostic performance. METHODS: PTCs from 1430 consecutive adult (> 18 years) patients from single tertiary care hospital were included in this study. A retrospective analysis of PTC patients' survival and recurrence were compared between AJCC 8th and AJCC 7th staging systems using Proportion of Variation Explained (PVE) and Harrell's C-index. RESULTS: Median follow up of the study cohort was 9.3 years. 31.2% (446/1430) of patients had m-ETE. In the overall cohort, m-ETE was associated with multiple adverse features such as older age (p < 0.0001), male sex (p = 0.0245), tall cell variant (p < 0.0001), bilateral tumors (p < 0.0001), multifocality (p < 0.0001), lymphovascular invasion (p < 0.0001), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.0001), distant metastasis (p = 0.0166), tumor recurrence (p < 0.0001), radioactive iodine refractoriness (p < 0.0001), BRAF mutation (p < 0.0001) and reduced recurrence-free survival (RFS; HR = 1.75; 95% CI = 1.30 - 2.35; p < 0.0001) irrespective of tumor size. Of the 611 patients with T3 disease based on AJCC 7th edition, 359 (58.8%) were down-staged in AJCC 8th edition classification. Overall, the prognostic performance of AJCC 8th edition was inferior to AJCC 7th on the basis of lower PVE (3.04% vs. 3.73%) and lower C-index (0.40 vs. 0.48). CONCLUSIONS: In Middle Eastern PTC, m-ETE is significantly associated with compromised survival and acts as an independent predictor of RFS. Given these findings, m-ETE should be i ncluded in the thyroid cancer treatment guidelines. PMID:34926245 | PMC:PMC8671701 | DOI:10.3389/fonc.2021.724432 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Composite Extranodal Natural Killer (NK)/T-cell Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in Nasal Cavity: A Rare Case

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Composite Extranodal Natural Killer (NK)/T-cell Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in Nasal Cavity: A Rare Case Via ear nose throat Ear Nose Throat J. 2021 Dec 20:1455613211066688. doi: 10.1177/01455613211066688. Online ahead of print. NO ABSTRACT PMID:34928717 | DOI:10.1177/01455613211066688 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Effects of background noise on auditory response characteristics of primary auditory cortex neurons in awake mice

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Effects of background noise on auditory response characteristics of primary auditory cortex neurons in awake mice Via cortical auditory Nan Fang Yi Ke Da Xue Xue Bao. 2021 Nov 20;41(11):1672-1679. doi: 10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2021.11.11. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of different continuous background noises on auditory response characteristics of primary auditory cortex (A1) neurons in awake mice. METHODS: We performed in vivo cell-attached recordings in layer 4 neurons of the A1 of awake mice to investigate how continuous background noises of different levels affected the intensity tuning, frequency tuning and time characteristics of individual A1 neurons. According to the intensity tuning characteristics and types of stimulation, 44 neurons were devided into 4 groups: monotonic-intensity group (20 monotonic neurons), nonmonotonic-intensity group (6 nonmonotonic neurons), monotonic-frequency group (25 monotonic neurons) and monotonic-latency group (15 monotonic neurons). RESULTS: The A1 neurons only had transient spike response within 10 to 40 ms af ter the onset of continuous wild-band noise stimulation. The noise intensity had no significant effects on the background firing rates of the A1 neurons (P>0.05). The increase of background noise resulted in a significant linear elevation of the intensity threshold of monotonic and nonmonotonic neurons for tone-evoked response (R2>0.90, P < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in the slopes of threshold changes between monotonic and nonmonotonic neurons (P>0.05). The best intensity of nonmonotonic neurons increased along with the intensity of the background noise, and the variation of the best intensity was positively correlated with the change of the threshold of the same neuron (r=0.944, P < 0.001). The frequency response bandwidth and the firing rate of the A1 neurons decreased as the noise intensity increased (P < 0.001), but the best frequency almost remained unchanged (P < 0.001). The increase of background noise intensity resulted in an increased first spike latency of the neurons to the same tone stimulus (P < 0.05) without affecting the time accuracy of the first action potential (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The acoustic response threshold of the A1 neurons increases linearly with the increase of background noise intensity. An increased background noise leads to compressed frequency band-width, a decreased firing rate and a prolonged spike latency, but the frequency selectivity and the time accuracy of auditory response to the same noise remain stable. PMID:34916193 | DOI:10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2021.11.11 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.