Squamous Cell Carcinoma of a Thyroglossal Duct Cyst and the Role of a Level IA Neck Dissection.

Squamous cell carcinoma of a thyroglossal duct cyst is exceedingly rare, with less than 30 cases reported across the literature. Herein, we present a case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of a thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) and discuss the utility of a level IA neck dissection in these cases. In 2018, a 62-year-old female presented to a university-affiliated otolaryngologist with symptoms of dysphagia and a palpable anterior midline neck mass.

Radiation Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer: Executive Summary of an ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline.

Purpose: This guideline systematically reviews the evidence for treatment of pancreatic cancer with radiation in the adjuvant, neoadjuvant, definitive, and palliative settings and provides recommendations on indications and technical considerations.

Methods And Materials: The American Society for Radiation Oncology convened a task force to address 7 key questions focused on radiation therapy, including dose fractionation and treatment volumes, simulation and treatment planning, and prevention of radiation-associated toxicities. Recommendations were based on a systematic literature review and created using a predefined consensus-building methodology and system for grading evidence quality and recommendation strength.

Accuracy of positron emission tomography in identifying hilar (N1) lymph node involvement in non-small cell lung cancer: Implications for stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of preoperative positron emission tomography (PET) to stage the ipsilateral hilum in resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods And Materials: All patients who underwent surgery for NSCLC between 1995 and 2008 were evaluated. Patients who underwent preoperative PET imaging at our institution and had hilar nodal sampling were included.

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced gastric cancer.

Background: To examine toxicity and outcomes for patients treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for gastric cancer.

Methods: Patients with gastroesophageal (GE) junction (Siewert type II and III) or gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent neoadjuvant CRT followed by planned surgical resection at Duke University between 1987 and 2009 were reviewed. Overall survival (OS), local control (LC) and disease-free survival (DFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Technical considerations in radiation therapy for gastroesophageal junction cancer.

Contemporary randomized trials have demonstrated that radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy and surgery improves survival in both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment of gastroesophageal cancers. Consequently, radiation treatment planning and administration have taken on an added importance to ensure optimal outcomes as well as minimize treatment-related morbidity. This article highlights recent technical advances and considerations for radiation therapy planning for gastroesophageal junction tumors.

Carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater: patterns of failure following resection and benefit of chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Ampullary carcinoma is a rare malignancy. Despite radical resection, survival rates remain low with high rates of local failure. We performed a single-institution outcomes analysis to define the role of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in addition to surgery.

How well does the new lung cancer staging system predict for local/regional recurrence after surgery?: A comparison of the TNM 6 and 7 systems.

Introduction: To evaluate how well the tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) 6 and TNM 7 staging systems predict rates of local/regional recurrence (LRR) after surgery alone for non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: All patients who underwent surgery for non-small cell lung cancer at Duke between 1995 and 2005 were reviewed. Those undergoing sublobar resections, with positive margins or involvement of the chest wall, or those who received any chemotherapy or radiation therapy (RT) were excluded.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy for anal malignancies: a preliminary toxicity and disease outcomes analysis.

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has the potential to reduce toxicities associated with chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of anal cancer. This study reports the results of using IMRT in the treatment of anal cancer.

Methods And Materials: Records of patients with anal malignancies treated with IMRT at Duke University were reviewed.

Radiation therapy advances for treatment of anal cancer.

Radiation therapy (RT) is established as the primary treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus. Multiple randomized trials have shown that combined modality therapy with RT, 5-fluorouracil, and mitomycin-C results in high rates of local control, disease-free survival, and sphincter preservation. However, treatment-related toxicity using conventional radiation approaches remains high and may compromise therapeutic efficacy because of prolonged treatment breaks and inability to deliver adequate radiation dose.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy for anal cancer.

The contemporary treatment of anal cancer is combined-modality therapy with radiation therapy, fluorouracil, and mitomycin. This therapy results in long-term disease-free survival and sphincter preservation in the majority of patients. Tempering these positive results is the high rate of treatment-related morbidity associated with chemoradiation therapy for anal cancer.

Influence of demographic factors on outcome of collecting duct carcinoma: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database analysis.

Background: Collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) is a rare tumor that is difficult to analyze in a single-institution setting. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to examine demographics and outcomes of CDC.

Patients And Methods: The SEER registry was queried for patients diagnosed with CDC from 1973 to 2004 who also had available demographic, stage, and survival information (n = 98).

Heterotopic ossification in high-energy wartime extremity injuries: prevalence and risk factors.

Background: Heterotopic ossification in the extremities remains a common complication in the setting of high-energy wartime trauma, particularly in blast-injured amputees and in those in whom the definitive amputation was performed within the zone of injury. The purposes of this cohort study were to report the experience of one major military medical center with high-energy wartime extremity wounds, to define the prevalence of heterotopic ossification in these patients, and to explore the relationship between heterotopic ossification and other potential independent predictors.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records and radiographs of all combat-wounded patients admitted to this institution between March 1, 2003, and December 31, 2006.

Obesity following kidney transplantation and steroid avoidance immunosuppression.

Obesity is an important co-morbidity within end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and renal transplant populations. Previous studies have suggested that chronic corticosteroids result in increased body weight post-transplant. With the recent adoption of steroid-sparing immunosuppressive strategies, we evaluated the effect of these strategies on body mass index (BMI) after renal transplantation.

Role of total skin electron beam therapy for leukemia cutis in pediatric patients.

The role of radiation therapy for those with leukemia cutis, particularly pediatric patients, remains unclear. This report describes the first two cases of disseminated leukemia cutis in adolescents treated with total skin electron beam therapy. Both patients had resolution of their skin disease and significant palliation of symptoms.