Quality of life during first-line palliative chemotherapy for recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer with weekly cisplatin and docetaxel.

Purpose: Quality of life (QOL) should be improved during palliative chemotherapy for end-stage recurrent head and neck cancer. Therefore, we evaluated QOL in head and neck cancer patients during palliative chemotherapy with cisplatin and docetaxel.

Methods: Thirty patients were included in a prospective study between 2003 and 2007.

A rare differential diagnosis in dysphagia: wound botulism.

The incidence of wound botulism is increasing dramatically among intravenous drug users. Efficient intensive care and early treatment with antitoxin is essential to avoid lethal courses. The clinical picture of botulism is of descending, symmetric, flaccid paralysis.

Phase II study of weekly docetaxel and cisplatin in patients with advanced recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer.

Objective: Response rates of presently used palliative chemotherapy for end-stage recurrent head and neck cancer are poor, but the regimes cause important toxicity.

Methods: A prospective phase II study was conducted to evaluate the activity and toxicity of a weekly combination of cisplatin and docetaxel in patients with recurrent head and neck cancer. From July 2003 to November 2004, 21 patients with metastatic neck disease were enrolled.

[Expression of angiopoietin-1 and 2 in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck areas and normal mucosa].

Objective: To study the significance by analyzing the expression of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) in the tissues of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck areas and in normal mucosa tissues.

Methods: The expression of Ang-1 and Ang-2 in 45 tumor samples and 7 normal mucosa tissues were determined by the immunohistochemical method with avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique. The results were scored by two independent observers and analyzed statistically.