Venous obstruction of thyroid malignancy origin: the Antoine Lacassagne Institute experience

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and aims</p> <p>To show the benefits of Ultrasonography in the diagnosis of great vein involvement in the neck and mediastinum in thyroid malignancies (primary or secondary) in our experience and to report patient outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Clinical data were collected from the thyroid unit database of the Antoine Lacassagne Institute.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 1171 patients with thyroid cancer treated at our institution over the last 18 years, we retrospectively identified nine patients (0.8%), three women and six men, aged 34–81 years (median age: 70 years) presenting with malignant thyroid tumor of median diameter 45 mm (range: 23–87) having venous obstruction of thyroid malignancy origin. Two patients underwent multimodal therapy. All other patients underwent external beam radiation therapy alone ± chemotherapy or palliative care. Ultrasound (US) provided particularly useful information on venous involvement characteristics. Median survival was 7 months and median progression-free survival was 6 months. Survival in our series was worse than that of previously reported series despite diagnosis of vein involvement at an early stage in 2/3 cases using US.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite small numbers of patients, it seems that aggressive treatment modalities including surgery are required to improve survival. In our experience, US was a useful non-invasive method to describe tumor extensions to great veins of the neck (invasion versus compression, tumor thrombus versus blood clot) and should be recommended to depict early venous invasion in cases of suspected thyroid malignancy.</p

Oral and oropharyngeal cancer surgery with free-flap reconstruction in the elderly: Factors associated with long-term quality of life, patient needs and concerns. A GETTEC cross-sectional study

Objectives: To assess the factors associated with long-term quality of life (QoL) and patient concerns in elderly oral or oropharyngeal cancer (OOPC) patients after oncologic surgery and free-flap reconstruction. Methods: Patients aged over 70 years who were still alive and disease-free at least 1 year after surgery were enrolled in this cross-sectional multicentric study. Patients completed the EORTC QLQ-C30, -H&N35 and -ELD14 QoL questionnaires, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Patient needs were evaluated using the Patient Concerns Inventory (PCI). Factors associated with these clinical outcomes were determined in univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Sixty-four patients were included in this study. Long-term QoL, functioning scales and patient autonomy were well-preserved. Main persistent symptoms were fatigue, constipation and oral function-related disorders. Salivary and mastication/swallowing problems were the main patient concerns. The mean number of patient concerns increased with the deterioration of their QoL. Psychological distress (HADS score ≥ 15) and patient frailty (G8 score < 15) were significantly associated with poor QoL outcomes. Conclusions: We found a negative correlation between the number of patient concerns and QoL. Dental rehabilitation and psychological and nutritional supportive measures are of critical importance in the multidisciplinary management of elderly OOPC patients

Current Therapeutic Strategies for Patients with Hypopharyngeal Carcinoma: Oncologic and Functional Outcomes

Hypopharyngeal cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and is associated with a high risk of recurrence and poor survival rates. Although they differ greatly in terms of prognosis, hypopharyngeal cancers are usually treated together with laryngeal cancers in clinical trials. Therefore, there are very few studies that focus specifically on patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma. As a result, the therapeutic management of these patients is highly debated, and their clinical outcomes are poorly reported. The aim of this review is therefore to discuss the current therapeutic options in patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma and their oncologic and functional outcomes. Patients with early-stage tumors can be treated either by conservative surgery (including transoral robot-assisted surgery) or by RT alone. However, most patients are diagnosed with locally advanced tumors that cannot be treated surgically without total laryngectomy. In this situation, the critical issue is to select the patients eligible for a larynx preservation therapeutic program. However, radical surgery with total laryngectomy still plays an important role in the management of patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma, either as the primary treatment modality (T4 resectable primary tumor, contraindication to larynx preservation therapies) or, more commonly, as salvage treatment.</jats:p

Laser Endoscopic Microsurgery of Laryngeal Cancers

Introduction&#8195; The aim of our study is to present our experience in treating laryngeal cancers with endoscopic CO2 laser surgery. Materials and Methods&#8195; This retrospective study was conducted from January 2008 to December 2012 at Antoine Lacassagne Center of Nice. The functional and oncologic results of this surgical technique were analyzed and discussed. Results&#8195; The average length of hospital stay was 2.5 days. Phonatory results were considered excellent in 75% of our patients who maintained satisfactory phone communication skills after their interventions. Chronic hoarseness was the most common reason for bilateral or extended cordectomies. On the oncologic basis, histologic exam showed 90% of our margins were normal. The clinical control showed excellent laryngeal preservation in 94.23%. In 5 years, the overall survival was estimated at 96.15%. Conclusion&#8195; This study shows the benefit of the laser endoscopic microsurgery for the preservation of laryngeal functions and the local histologic control, essentially for early stage laryngeal cancers

Current Role of Total Laryngectomy in the Era of Organ Preservation

In this article, we aimed to discuss the role of total laryngectomy (TL) in the management of patients with larynx cancer (LC) in the era of organ preservation. Before the 1990s, TL followed by radiotherapy (RT) was the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced LC. Over the last 30 years, various types of larynx preservation (LP) programs associating induction or concurrent chemotherapy (CT) with RT have been developed, with the aim of treating locally advanced LC patients while preserving the larynx and its functions. Overall, more than two-thirds of patients included in a LP program will not require total laryngectomy (TL) and will preserve a functional larynx. However, despite these advances, the larynx is the only tumor site in the upper aero-digestive tract for which prognosis has not improved during recent decades. Indeed, none of these LP protocols have shown any survival advantage compared to primary radical surgery, and it appears that certain LC patients do not benefit from an LP program. This is the case for patients with T4a LC (extra-laryngeal tumor extension through the thyroid cartilage) or with poor pretreatment laryngeal function and for whom primary TL is still the preferred therapeutic option. Moreover, TL is the standard salvage therapy for patients with recurrent tumor after an LP protocol

Current Role of Total Laryngectomy in the Era of Organ Preservation

In this article, we aimed to discuss the role of total laryngectomy (TL) in the management of patients with larynx cancer (LC) in the era of organ preservation. Before the 1990s, TL followed by radiotherapy (RT) was the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced LC. Over the last 30 years, various types of larynx preservation (LP) programs associating induction or concurrent chemotherapy (CT) with RT have been developed, with the aim of treating locally advanced LC patients while preserving the larynx and its functions. Overall, more than two-thirds of patients included in a LP program will not require total laryngectomy (TL) and will preserve a functional larynx. However, despite these advances, the larynx is the only tumor site in the upper aero-digestive tract for which prognosis has not improved during recent decades. Indeed, none of these LP protocols have shown any survival advantage compared to primary radical surgery, and it appears that certain LC patients do not benefit from an LP program. This is the case for patients with T4a LC (extra-laryngeal tumor extension through the thyroid cartilage) or with poor pretreatment laryngeal function and for whom primary TL is still the preferred therapeutic option. Moreover, TL is the standard salvage therapy for patients with recurrent tumor after an LP protocol.</jats:p

Current Therapeutic Strategies for Patients with Hypopharyngeal Carcinoma: Oncologic and Functional Outcomes

Hypopharyngeal cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and is associated with a high risk of recurrence and poor survival rates. Although they differ greatly in terms of prognosis, hypopharyngeal cancers are usually treated together with laryngeal cancers in clinical trials. Therefore, there are very few studies that focus specifically on patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma. As a result, the therapeutic management of these patients is highly debated, and their clinical outcomes are poorly reported. The aim of this review is therefore to discuss the current therapeutic options in patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma and their oncologic and functional outcomes. Patients with early-stage tumors can be treated either by conservative surgery (including transoral robot-assisted surgery) or by RT alone. However, most patients are diagnosed with locally advanced tumors that cannot be treated surgically without total laryngectomy. In this situation, the critical issue is to select the patients eligible for a larynx preservation therapeutic program. However, radical surgery with total laryngectomy still plays an important role in the management of patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma, either as the primary treatment modality (T4 resectable primary tumor, contraindication to larynx preservation therapies) or, more commonly, as salvage treatment

Early postoperative bone scintigraphy in the evaluation of microvascular bone grafts in head and neck reconstruction

Abstract Background Bone scintigraphy was performed to monitor anastomotic patency and bone viability. Methods In this retrospective study, bone scans were carried out during the first three postoperative days in a series of 60 patients who underwent microvascular bone grafting for reconstruction of the mandible or maxilla. Results In our series, early bone scans detected a compromised vascular supply to the bone with high accuracy (p Conclusion When performing bone scintigraphy during the first three postoperative days, it not only helps to detect complications with high accuracy, as described in earlier studies, but it is also an additional reliable monitoring tool to decide whether or not microvascular revision surgery should be performed. Bone scans were especially useful in buried free flaps where early postoperative monitoring depended exclusively on scans. According to our experience, we recommend bone scans as soon as possible after surgery and immediately in cases suspicious of vascularized bone graft failure.</p