Patient Perception of Education, Care Coordination, and Psychological Distress After Developing Facial Paralysis: A Qualitative Study.

Importance: The management of vestibular schwannoma may include observation, microsurgical resection, or radiation of a tumor near the facial nerve. Injury to the facial nerve can result in facial paralysis with major functional, social, and psychological sequelae, and the experiences of patients after paralysis are not well studied.

Objective: To (1) identify patient preparedness for developing facial paralysis and how well their care is coordinated following its development and (2) present in their own words outcomes of facial paralysis in terms of physical health, emotional health, self-perception, and social interactions.

Prognostic Impact and Utility of Immunoprofiling in the Selection of Patients with Colorectal Peritoneal Carcinomatosis for Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS) and Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC).

Background: Recent studies have shown an association in non-metastatic colorectal cancer between patient survival and immunoprofiling (expression of CD3, CD4, CD8, CD45, and FOXP3 T cells at the invasive margin (IM) and the tumor center (TC)) regardless of stage. Patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis have a dismal prognosis, but survival can be significantly improved in selected patients who undergo cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC). However, current patient selection for CRS/HIPEC is suboptimal.

The Immune Microenvironment Impacts Survival in Western Patients with Gastric Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Expression of CD3+ T cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, CD45RO+ memory T cells, and FOXP3+ regulatory T cells at the invasive margin (IM) and tumor center (TC) has correlated with survival in gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) patients from East Asia, independent of anatomic staging. The reason for improved survival in East Asians compared with Western patients is a subject of debate. This study examined the immune profiles of a cohort of Western patients with GA, and their association with overall survival (OS).

Colorectal carcinoma in pediatric patients: A comparison with adult tumors, treatment and outcomes from the National Cancer Database.

Background: Pediatric colorectal cancer (CRC) is rare. Comparison with adult CRC tumors, management, and outcomes may identify opportunities for improvement in pediatric CRC care.

Study Design: CRC patients in the National Cancer Data Base from 1998 to 2011, were grouped into Pediatric (≤21years), early onset adult (22-50) and older adult (>50) patients.

Follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma in a pediatric population.

Background: Follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC) has been shown to be an intermediate entity between papillary (PTC) and follicular/Hurtle cell (FTC) thyroid carcinoma in adults. However, the tumor characteristics and prognosis of FVPTCs has not been studied in the pediatric population and is the focus of the current study

Methods: All pediatric patients ≤ 19 years of age with differentiated thyroid cancer (PTC, FVPTC, or FTC) were identified from the SEER registry from 1988-2009. Patients were divided into groups based on their histology.

Pediatric papillary thyroid cancer >1 cm: is total thyroidectomy necessary?

Purpose: Treatment of pediatric papillary thyroid cancer (p-PTC) often follows adult guidelines, including total thyroidectomy for tumors >1cm. This study examined the association between operation type and overall survival (OS) for tumors >1cm in size in the pediatric population.

Methods: Patients ≤ 21 years of age with primary papillary thyroid cancer >1cm were reviewed from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) from 1998 to 2011.