Expression patterns of Trk-A, Trk-B, GRP78, and p75NRT in olfactory neuroblastoma.

Olfactory neuroblastoma is an uncommon neuroectodermal tumor of the sinonasal tract. It represents 2% to 3% of sinonasal neoplasms. Most olfactory neuroblastoma behave locally aggressive with 30% recurrence rates.

Impact of nodal ratio on survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.

Background: The association between nodal ratio and survival has not been assessed in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.

Methods: This is a population-based analysis, using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results database, to determine whether nodal ratio impacts survival in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Results: Between 1988 and 2005, 2955 new diagnoses of N(1) or N(2) squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were identified.

Quality of life in patients with maxillectomy prostheses.

Background: This cross-sectional study sought to determine patient quality of life and function after prosthetic rehabilitation for maxillary and palate defects following cancer resection.

Methods: Sixty-nine patients were identified, 42 participated in the study (61%). The Obturator Functioning Scale (OFS) and 4 general quality of life measures (Mental Health Inventory [MHI], Impact of Events Scale [IES], Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale [IIRS], and Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [CES-D]) were correlated with clinical parameters.

Morbidity and functional outcomes following gastro-omental free flap reconstruction of circumferential pharyngeal defects.

Background: In patients with extensive soft tissue fibrosis requiring circumferential pharyngeal reconstruction following definitive radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, we take advantage of abundant omental progenitor factors in the tubed gastro-omental free flap. This study reviews our experience with this flap.

Methods: Review of 11 patients (median follow-up, 2.

Three-dimensional tomosynthesis and cone-beam computed tomography: an experimental study for fast, low-dose intraoperative imaging technology for guidance of sinus and skull base surgery.

Objectives: To describe three-dimension (3-D) tomosynthesis and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) as an intraoperative imaging system to guide both sinus and skull-base surgery in a cadaveric model.

Methods: Five cadaveric heads underwent baseline CBCT imaging. Surgical targets were resected from each head (uncinectomy, ethmoidectomy, medial maxillectomy, pituitary gland resection, and clivus ablation).

Towards further understanding of prognostic factors for head and neck cancer patients: the example of hypopharyngeal cancer.

Objectives: Knowledge of prognostic factors is essential for patient care and research. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate that prognostic factors and their impact can vary depending on study design and to examine the relationships between select prognostic factors.

Methods: Retrospective population-based study of patients with cancer of the hypopharynx in Ontario, Canada, from January 1990 to December 1999 identifying and comparing prognostic factors for different survival outcomes and different subpopulations using Kaplan Meier analysis and Cox Proportional Hazards models.

WebFlow: a software package for high-throughput analysis of flow cytometry data.

Flow cytometry has emerged as a powerful tool for quantitative, single-cell analysis of both surface markers and intracellular antigens, including phosphoproteins and kinase signaling cascades, with the flexibility to process hundreds of samples in multiwell plate format. Quantitative flow cytometric analysis is being applied in many areas of biology, from the study of immunology in animal models or human patients to high-content drug screening of pharmacologically active compounds. However, these experiments generate thousands of data points per sample, each with multiple measured parameters, leading to data management and analysis challenges.

Effect of fiducial configuration on target registration error in intraoperative cone-beam CT guidance of head and neck surgery.

Advances in image-guided surgery have led to minimally-invasive, high-precision procedures that increase the efficacy of treatment, minimize surgical complications, and reduce patient recovery time. A recent advance in intraoperative 3D imaging includes cone-beam CT (CBCT) implemented on a mobile C-arm. This paper investigates the effect of the number and configuration of fiducials on target registration error (TRE) and identifies fiducial configurations that minimize TRE for rigid point-based registration in CBCT-guided head and neck surgery.

Deformable registration for intra-operative cone-beam CT guidance of head and neck surgery.

The computational and geometric performance of Demons deformable registration techniques were investigated in the application of cone-beam CT (CBCT) for intra-operative guidance of head and neck surgery. A prototype C-arm providing CBCT images of sub-mm spatial resolution and soft-tissue contrast was used to acquire images of a cadaveric head before and after surgical intervention. Four deformable registration methods were investigated both in terms of their convergence behavior (time and number of iterations required) and registration accuracy (correlation between deformed and target images and the corresponding target registration error, TRE).

Further analysis of the population history of ancient Egyptians.

The origins of state formation in ancient Egypt have been the focus of recent research utilizing biological data to test hypotheses regarding in situ development of local groups, or large-scale in-migration, possibly by an invading army. The primary goal of the present research is to further test these hypotheses. Our secondary goal is to compare different distance measures and assess how they might affect interpretation of population history.

TNM-based stage groupings in head and neck cancer: application in cancer of the hypopharynx.

Background: The purpose of this study was to test the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC)/TNM category-based head and neck cancer stage grouping systems proposed in the literature for their ability to create clinically relevant prognostic groups of like-patients with cancer of the hypopharynx.

Methods: Population-based retrospective survival study of 595 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx across Ontario, Canada, from January 1990 to January 2000. The grouping systems of UICC/TNM, T and N Integer Score (TANIS), Hart, Berg, Snyderman, Kiricuta, and Hall were tested and compared for prognostic ability using hazard consistency, hazard discrimination, percent variance explained, outcome prediction, and balance.

Claudin 1 overexpression increases invasion and is associated with aggressive histological features in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The authors have previously shown that overexpression of claudin 1 (CLDN1) is associated with advanced disease stage in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). Their goal was to examine CLDN1 expression in a large series of primary OSCCs and to further investigate whether CLDN1 overexpression plays a role in invasion in OSCC.

Methods: CLDN1 gene expression levels were determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) in 100 primary OSCCs.

Patient perception of risk factors in head and neck cancer.

Background: A previous study at our institution noted that only 15% of newly diagnosed patients with oral cancer could identify smoking or alcohol abuse as major risk factors for the development of their cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a simple educational intervention in 189 consecutively identified patients with head and neck malignancy.

Methods: Patients were interviewed prior to and immediately following reading a written educational pamphlet.

Prognostic factors in malignancy of the minor salivary glands.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify prognostic factors associated with minor salivary gland malignancies.

Method: This was a retrospective study of 171 patients. Statistical analysis of both clinical and pathological parameters with survival outcomes was performed.

Single-cell profiling identifies aberrant STAT5 activation in myeloid malignancies with specific clinical and biologic correlates.

Progress in understanding the molecular pathogenesis of human myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs) has led to guidelines incorporating genetic assays with histopathology during diagnosis. Advances in flow cytometry have made it possible to simultaneously measure cell type and signaling abnormalities arising as a consequence of genetic pathologies. Using flow cytometry, we observed a specific evoked STAT5 signaling signature in a subset of samples from patients suspected of having juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), an aggressive MPD with a challenging clinical presentation during active disease.

Esthesioneuroblastoma: The Princess Margaret Hospital experience.

Background: Esthesioneuroblastoma is rare. The aim of the study was to review our experience and to evaluate the staging system and treatment that best correlates with the patient outcome.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients were identified between 1972 and 2006.

Mala praxis: a study of malpractice claims and litigation in the field of radiology.

Risk management plays an integral role in the mitigation of malpractice claims in the radiology environment. This holds true for the radiologist and professional association as well as the facility that supports the radiologic service. The radiologist and the radiology department or imaging center are separate entities which have a symbiotic relationship.

Truths and myths about radiotherapy for verrucous carcinoma of larynx.

Purpose: The role of primary radiotherapy (RT) for laryngeal verrucous carcinoma (LVC) is controversial because of concerns about anaplastic transformation, an increased incidence of metastases, and poorer local control after RT. To address these concerns, we report our experience.

Methods And Materials: All patients with pathologically diagnosed LVC treated with primary RT at our institution between 1961 and 2004 were reviewed.

Mucosal melanomas of the head and neck: experience of the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify the prognostic variables in mucosal melanoma of the head and neck.

Methods: A retrospective review of 61 cases over a 41-year period was undertaken. Local, regional, and distant failures were major outcome measures.

Geometric calibration of a mobile C-arm for intraoperative cone-beam CT.

A geometric calibration method that determines a complete description of source-detector geometry was adapted to a mobile C-arm for cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The non-iterative calibration algorithm calculates a unique solution for the positions of the source (X(s), Y(s), Z(s)), detector (X(d), Y(d), Z(d)), piercing point (U(o), V(o)), and detector rotation angles (phi, theta, eta) based on projections of a phantom consisting of two plane-parallel circles of ball bearings encased in a cylindrical acrylic tube. The prototype C-arm system was based on a Siemens PowerMobil modified to provide flat-panel CBCT for image-guided interventions.

The natural history of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx.

Objectives/hypothesis: To provide the baseline information on the natural history of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx to help clinicians, researchers, and patients assess the relative effectiveness of treatment options when the best treatment is not known and newer treatments are being proposed.

Study Design: Retrospective population-based design.

Methods: The patient descriptors, treatments, and outcomes for 595 patients across the province of Ontario, Canada from January 1990 to December 31, 1999 based on electronic data and chart review.

Cone-beam computed tomography on a mobile C-arm: novel intraoperative imaging technology for guidance of head and neck surgery.

Objectives: A conventional approach to image-guided surgery relies on positional tracking relative to preoperative images. We investigated the performance of intraoperative cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) on a mobile C-arm for real-time guidance of head and neck surgery. Objectives were as follows: (1) to quantify improvements in surgical performance achieved with intraoperative CBCT and (2) to investigate specific, challenging surgical tasks for which CBCT is essential for total target ablation and critical structure avoidance.