[Quality of life for patients treated for head and neck carcinoma].

A large consensus admits that quality of life is a multifactorial concept including at least physical, psychical and social dimensions of the disease as well as symptoms related to the disease and to the requested treatments. Quality of life is actually considered as one of the major assessment criteria for taking care of patients with cancer and to evaluate results of clinical trials. Self-evaluation by the patient is considered as the gold standard to evaluate the clinical symptoms.

[Metastatic tumor implantation from a primary cancer of the base of the tongue at the site of placement of a central venous portacath].

Central venous catheter placement with an implanted port (portacath) is used to provide long-term venous access. We report a case of metastatic implantation at a port site from a primary cancer of the base of the tongue. Insertion of portacaths must be performed using full sterile precautions to avoid spread of tumor cells; in no case should the port site incisions be in contact with the surgical field in which the tumor resection was performed.

Conservative treatment of early glottic carcinomas with exclusive radiotherapy.

Background: Early glottic carcinomas can be treated with radiotherapy or surgery with similar local control rates but with better functional results with radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to analyze the results of our experience of exclusive radiotherapy.

Patients And Methods: From 1975 to 2001, 155 patients with Tis, T1 and T2 glottic carcinomas were treated with exclusive radiotherapy.

[Feasability of the dose adjustment of continuous infusion administration over 120 hours of 5-fluorouracil associated with cisplatin].

Therapeutic monitoring of 120 hours continuous 5-fluorouracil associated with cisplatin. For 31 patients treated by continuous 5-fluorouracil with cisplatin, a therapeutic monitoring of 5-fluorouracil is performed, based on the 48 first hours area under the curve (AUC) and the total AUC. The 5-fluorouracile taylorization allows to reduce some toxicity's while preserving an efficiency (objective responses 42%).

[Multiple paragangliomas of the neck localized in the thyroid region. Papillary thyroid cancer associated with parathyroid adenoma].

A 58 years-old woman has had a goiter for many years. She was treated by neck irradiation for "lymphadenopathy" 20 years-ago. She is now operated on for bilateral carotid body paragangliomas and a similar tumor of the thyroid gland near the midline.