Publications by authors named "Anouk W M A Schaeffers"

Background: Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) face several physical, emotional, and psychological challenges throughout treatment. Cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is an effective but toxic treatment, with an increased risk for toxicities in patients with low skeletal muscle mass (SMM). Consequently, these patients are anticipated to experience greater treatment-related difficulties.

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Introduction: Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) frequently experience irreversible sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Patients with low lumbar skeletal muscle index (LSMI) may experience higher serum peak dosages of cisplatin. This study investigated whether pre-treatment low LSMI is associated with increased SNHL upon cisplatin-based CRT.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chemoradiotherapy using a triweekly cisplatin regimen of 100 mg/m² is employed to treat locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but often leads to dose limiting toxicity (CDLT) that can compromise treatment effectiveness.
  • Patients with low skeletal muscle mass (SMM) face a significantly higher risk of CDLT, prompting the use of routine diagnostic scans to assess SMM.
  • A multicenter randomized clinical trial is exploring whether switching to a weekly cisplatin regimen of 40 mg/m² improves treatment compliance among patients with low SMM by reducing CDLT while allowing for a higher cumulative dose.
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Background: Synkinesis is defined as involuntary movements accompanying by voluntary movements and can occur during the aftermath of peripheral facial palsy, causing functional, aesthetic and psychological problems in the patient. Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) is frequently used as a safe and effective treatment; however, there is no standardized guideline for the use of BTX-A in synkinesis. The purpose of this article is to review and summarize studies about the BTX-A treatment of synkinesis in patients with a history of peripheral facial palsy; including given dosages, injection sites and time intervals between injections.

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Purpose Of Review: The aim of this review is to discuss recent studies on the assessment of sarcopenia and its predictive and prognostic value in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients.

Recent Findings: There is increasing evidence that low skeletal muscle mass (SMM), often named sarcopenia, can easily be assessed on cross-sectional imaging of the head and neck and is associated with chemotherapy (dose limiting) and radiotherapy toxicity and survival.

Summary: SMM measurement at the level of the third cervical vertebra (C3) on routine computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging is easy and robust to perform.

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Sweet's syndrome (acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis) consists of acute onset of painful cutaneous erythematous lesions, mostly found in the upper extremities followed by the head and neck region, particularly in patients with underlying malignancies. We describe the case of a woman in her mid-30s, who was treated for acute myeloid leukaemia and presented with a severe painful and progressive erythematous lesion of the retroauricular skin. Clinical features, laboratory tests, blood cultures and histological biopsy yielded a diagnosis of Sweet's syndrome.

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Maintenance of adequate renal function after living kidney donation is important for donor outcome. Overweight donors, in particular, may have an increased risk for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), and young female donors have an increased preeclampsia risk. Both of these risks may be associated with low postdonation renal functional reserve (RFR).

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