Publications by authors named "Louis Portugal"

Background: Recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is associated with poor overall survival (OS). Prior studies suggested incorporation of nab-paclitaxel (A) may improve outcomes in recurrent HNSCC.

Methods: This Phase I study evaluated induction with carboplatin and A followed by concomitant FHX (infusional 5-fluorouracil, hydroxyurea and twice-daily radiation therapy administered every other week) plus A with cohort dose escalation ranging from 10-100 mg/m in recurrent HNSCC.

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Objectives: Parathyroid cysts are rare benign lesions of the head and neck that account for less than 1% of cystic neck masses. We present a rare case of a large 6 cm substernal parathyroid cyst.

Presentation Of Case: An otherwise healthy 65 year-old female presented to the otolaryngology clinic for evaluation of an anterior, midline neck mass.

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Performance of tracheotomy is a potential necessary step in the patient with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and prolonged mechanical ventilation. Due to viral aerosolization, tracheotomy carries a high risk of transmission of COVID-19 to the health care team performing the procedure. We share our institution's surgical safety checklist for performing tracheotomy in patients with COVID-19, including key modifications intended to mitigate risk to the surgical team.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess functional outcomes in patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer receiving tailored chemotherapy and radiation therapy based on their risk levels and treatment responses.
  • Patients were categorized as low risk (LR) or high risk (HR) and received varying doses of radiation therapy based on their response to induction chemotherapy, with subsequent analysis of swallow studies, feeding tube dependency, and weight changes.
  • Results showed significant differences in treatment effects based on risk and therapy intensity, with high intensity treatments leading to worse swallowing difficulties and greater weight loss over the year following treatment.
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Pituitary adenomas are a group of tumors arising from the anterior pituitary gland, and with the exception of prolactin-secreting adenomas, transsphenoidal resection is the cornerstone of treatment. Although most adenomas are located within the pituitary fossa, ectopic adenomas have been reported, primarily occurring along the route of embryologic development. In this article, we present the case of an ectopic pituitary adenoma in the nasolabial fold that likely resulted from seeding during transsphenoidal resection via sublabial approach.

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Objectives: Definitive chemoradiation (CRT) for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OC-SCC) is often criticized for poor efficacy or toxicity. We describe a favorable 20-year experience of primary CRT for locally-advanced OC-SCC.

Materials And Methods: Patients with locally-advanced, stage III/IV OC-SCC receiving primary concomitant CRT on protocols from 1994 to 2014 were analyzed.

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Background: Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising in nonsmokers and nondrinkers remains poorly characterized. We hypothesized that these patients had prior exposure to metallic dental hardware.

Methods: We utilized a questionnaire querying the lifetime oral health status of 54 patients.

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This article is a continuation of the "Do You Know Your Guidelines" series, an initiative of the American Head and Neck Society's Education Committee to increase awareness of current best practices pertaining to head and neck cancer. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for primary and adjuvant treatment of cancer of the glottic larynx are reviewed here in a systematic fashion according to stage.

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Laryngotracheal amyloid deposition is an uncommon manifestation of systemic light chain amyloidosis. Diagnostic imaging, such as CT, is useful for suggesting the possibility of amyloidosis and delineating the extent of the lesions for surgical management; however, the diagnosis is confirmed with the histologic finding of amorphous eosinophilic material which stains positively for Congo red and may show apple green birefringence on polarization. These features are exemplified in this sine qua non radiology-pathology correlation article.

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This article is a continuation of the "Do You Know Your Guidelines" series, an initiative of the American Head and Neck Society's Education Committee to increase awareness of current best practices pertaining to head and neck cancer. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for the management of nasopharyngeal cancer are reviewed here in a systematic fashion. These guidelines outline the workup, treatment and surveillance of patients with nasopharyngeal cancer.

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Purpose: The genetic differences between human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive and -negative head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) remain largely unknown. To identify differential biology and novel therapeutic targets for both entities, we determined mutations and copy-number aberrations in a large cohort of locoregionally advanced HNSCC.

Experimental Design: We performed massively parallel sequencing of 617 cancer-associated genes in 120 matched tumor/normal samples (42.

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Background: Patients with T4 laryngeal cancers, including those with large-volume (cartilage or tongue-base invasion) lesions, are often excluded from organ-preservation trials due to expectations of inferior outcome in terms of survival and function. We hypothesize that such patients indeed have acceptable survival and function when treated with organ-preservation strategies.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of a cohort of patients with T4 laryngeal cancer was carried out.

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Background: To report the outcomes of patients with locoregionally advanced and high- risk salivary gland malignancies treated with surgery followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Methods: From 09/1991 - 06/2007, 24 high-risk salivary gland cancer patients were treated with surgery, followed by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for high-risk pathologic features including, perineural involvement, nodal involvement, positive margins, or T3/T4 tumors. Chemoradiotherapy was delivered for 4-6 alternating week cycles: the most common regimen, TFHX, consisted of 5 days paclitaxel (100 mg/m² on d1), infusional 5-fluorouracil (600 mg/m²/d × 5d), hydroxyurea (500 mg PO BID), and 1.

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Benign masses of the vocal fold related to phonotrauma are clinically classified into polyps, nodules, Reinke's edema, and cysts. Despite the apparent distinctiveness of the clinical nomenclature, low inter- and intraobserver diagnostic agreement has been reported. Excepting cysts, which are epithelial lined, histologic examination of the remaining lesions has shown a variety of overlapping features insufficiently specific for the clinical diagnoses.

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Background: It has been shown that concomitant chemotherapy (C) with reirradiation (ReRT) is feasible and effective for select patients with recurrent or second primary head and neck cancer (HNC). To examine potential prognostic factors associated with survival, the authors of this report retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of patients who received CReRT.

Methods: The study cohort comprised previously irradiated patients with nonmetastatic disease from 9 consecutive phase 1 and 2 protocols for poor-prognosis HNC.

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Objectives/hypothesis: Patients with advanced oral cavity cancer (OCC) typically have not been enrolled in clinical trials utilizing contemporary multimodality strategies. There exist dogmatic expectations of inferior outcome in OCC patients secondary to ineffectiveness of treatment and unacceptable toxicity. The purpose of this study was to analyze survival, swallowing function, and incidence of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of patients with stage III/IV OCC who have undergone primary concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

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Rhinosinusitis is one of the most common respiratory tract conditions seen by primary care physicians. Each year approximately 20 million cases of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (ABRS) occur in the United States. Since diagnosis of ABRS relies on clinical evaluation, treatments are usually empirical and include an antibiotic treatment that covers the common bacteria associated with ABRS infection, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of neck lymph node (ND) in the combined dissection modality therapy for locoregionally advanced head and neck.

Methods: We identified patients with N2-N3 head and neck cancers who were enrolled in three consecutive multicenter phase II studies of concurrent chemoradiotherapy utilizing 5-fluorouracil and hydroxyurea on an alternate-week schedule with radiotherapy twice daily plus either cisplatin (C-FHX) or paclitaxel (T-FHX). Patients with unknown primary tumors, nasopharyngeal or paranasal sinus primaries, nonsquamous histology, progression or death during therapy, or incomplete therapy were excluded.

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Purpose: Induction chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel followed by concomitant TFHX (paclitaxel, infusional 5-fluorouracil, hydroxyurea, and twice-daily radiation therapy administered every other week) has resulted in 70% 3-year survival in stage IV patients. Locoregional and distant control rates were 94 and 93%, respectively. In an attempt to decrease toxicity without compromising local control, a second cohort of patients was treated with a lower dose of radiation to sites of potential microscopic disease.

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Purpose: To expand on our experience with the combination of paclitaxel, fluorouracil, hydroxyurea, and twice daily irradiation (T-FHX) and to assess the impact of weekly administration of erythropoietin (r-HuEpo) on transfusion requirements, we conducted a Phase II multi-institutional trial with a simplified 1-h paclitaxel infusion schedule and randomized patients to receive weekly doses of r-HuEpo.

Patients And Methods: A total of 90 patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers (stage IV, 96%; N(2)/N(3), 66%) were treated on a regimen of 1-h infusion of paclitaxel (100 mg/m(2)/day, day 1), 120-h infusion of 5-fluorouracil (600 mg/m(2)/day, days 0-5); hydroxyurea 500 mg p.o.

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Purpose: The paclitaxel, fluorouracil, and hydroxyurea regimen of paclitaxel, infusional fluorouracil, hydroxyurea, and twice-daily radiation therapy (TFHX) administered every other week has resulted in 3-year survival rates of 60% of stage IV patients. Locoregional and distant failure rates were 13% and 23%, respectively. To reduce distant failure rates, we added a brief course of induction chemotherapy to TFHX.

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