Patterns of relapse following surgery and postoperative intensity modulated radiotherapy for oral and oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: To investigate the patterns of relapse following intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) given after radical surgery for oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and two patients with oral or oropharyngeal cancer were treated with radical surgery followed by IMRT up to a mean total dose of 60 Gy between years 2001 and 2007. Thirty-nine of the patients (%) also received concomitant weekly cisplatin.

Phase II prospective trial of gefitinib given concurrently with cisplatin and radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Objective: To examine a series of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients treated with combined gefitinib and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) regarding treatment efficacy and tolerability and correlation with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) factors.

Patients And Methods: Fifteen patients with locally advanced HNSCC were included in the study. The patients were scheduled to take gefitinib 250 mg in combination with concurrent radiotherapy (RT) +/- concomitant cisplatin.

Clinicopathological characterization and genomic aberrations in subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma.

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphomas (SPTLs) represent a rare, difficult-to-diagnose, and poorly characterized subtype of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) affecting younger people more than the other CTCL forms. We performed a thorough clinical, immunohistological, and molecular analysis of nine Finnish SPTL patients. Specifically, we performed single-cell comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) from laser microdissected, morphologically malignant SPTL cells, as well as loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis for the NAV3 (neuron navigator 3) gene.

Pharyngocutaneous fistula following total laryngectomy: a single institution's 10-year experience.

The etiology of postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) formation following major head and neck surgery is multifactorial and the incidence varies greatly. We reviewed retrospectively the records of 108 consecutive patients who underwent a total laryngectomy during the period from December 1992 to December 2002 at the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. PCF occurred postoperatively in 19 (18%) patients.

Oral tongue carcinoma and its treatment in Finland.

Management of oral tongue squamous cell cancer (OTSCC) remains a challenge. This nationwide study reports the used treatment approach and the outcome of OTSCC in Finland. Retrospective study of OTSCC patients in 1995-1999 with a 5-year follow-up.

Biweekly escalated, accelerated hyperfractionated radiotherapy with concomitant single-dose mitomycin C results in a high rate of local control in advanced laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a dose-escalated, accelerated, and hyperfractionated radiotherapy schedule with a concomitant single dose of mitomycin C in the treatment of patients with advanced laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer. Twenty-one previously untreated patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma (stage III, n = 6; stage IV, n = 15) were treated with a biweekly dose-escalated, accelerated, and hyperfractionated schedule up to a total dose of 74.4 Gy in 54 fractions over 5 weeks.

Cyclin A and Ki-67 expression as predictors for locoregional recurrence and outcome in laryngeal cancer patients treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate the association between the cancer cell proliferation fraction and the risk of recurrence in laryngeal cancer patients treated without systemic therapy.

Methods And Materials: Paraffin-embedded tumor samples from 90 laryngeal cancer patients were stained for cyclin A and the Ki-67 antigen by immunohistochemistry. The patients were treated with partial or total laryngectomy followed by postoperative radiotherapy to a total dose of 50 Gy or greater.

Comparison of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and sucralfate mouthwashes in the prevention of radiation-induced mucositis: a double-blind prospective randomized phase III study.

Purpose: To compare granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) mouthwashes with sucralfate mouthwashes in the prevention of radiation-induced mucositis.

Methods And Materials: Forty patients with radically operated head-and-neck cancer were randomly allocated to use either GM-CSF (n = 21) or sucralfate (n = 19) mouthwashes during postoperative radiotherapy (RT). All patients received conventionally fractionated RT to a total dose of 50-60 Gy in 2-Gy daily fractions during 5-6 weeks to the primary site and regional lymphatics.