Cancer
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The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence of locoregional failure in patients with low-risk, early stage oral tongue squamous cell cancer (OTSCC) who undergo partial glossectomy and ipsilateral elective neck dissection without receiving postoperative radiation. ⋯ Patients with low-risk, pathologic T1-T2N0 OTSCC had a greater than expected rate of neck failure, with contralateral recurrence accounting for close to 40% of recurrences. Failure occurred predominantly in patients who had primary tumors that were ≥ 4 mm thick.
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Comparative Study
(18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography for the detection of recurrent bone and soft tissue sarcoma.
The clinical utility of modern hybrid imaging modalities for detecting recurrent bone or soft tissue sarcoma remains to be determined. In this report, the authors present a clinical study on the diagnostic accuracy and incremental value of integrated (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18) F-FDG PET/CT) in patients with a history of sarcoma who have clinically suspected disease recurrence. ⋯ (18) F-FDG PET/CT had greater diagnostic accuracy in the detection of recurrent bone or soft tissue sarcoma compared with CE-CT alone. The detection of local recurrence was the most evident advantage of (18) F-FDG PET/CT over CE-CT. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
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Disparity in resection rates for malignant brain tumors in elderly patients is partially attributed to a belief that advanced age is associated with an increased risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of advanced age (≥75 years) on 30-day outcomes in patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors who underwent craniotomy for definitive resection of a malignant brain tumor. ⋯ Advanced age did not increase the risk of poor outcomes after surgical resection of primary or metastatic intracranial tumors when analyses were controlled for other risk factors. These results suggest that age should not be used, in isolation, as an a priori factor to discourage pursuing craniotomy.
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Attrition is common among supportive care/palliative oncology clinical trials. However, to the authors' knowledge, few studies to date have documented the reasons and predictors for dropout. In the current study, the authors' objective was to determine the rate, reasons, and factors associated with attrition both before reaching the primary endpoint and at the end of the study. ⋯ The attrition rate was high in supportive care/palliative oncology clinical trials, and was associated with various patient characteristics and a high baseline symptom burden. These findings have implications for future clinical trial design including eligibility criteria and sample size calculation.
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Little is known about the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) on appropriate versus inappropriate prescribing. Aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy for breast cancer provides an ideal paradigm for studying this issue, because AIs have been the focus of substantial DTCA, and because they should only be used in postmenopausal women, age can serve as a simple surrogate marker of appropriateness. ⋯ DTCA for the AIs was associated with increases in appropriate prescriptions with no significant effect on inappropriate prescriptions, suggesting that DTCA may not foster inappropriate medication use for certain drug classes.