Biomedical subjects

Craig D Shriver

Publications and source records attributed to Craig D Shriver.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

A prospective evaluation of patients undergoing surgery for the palliation of an advanced malignancy.

BACKGROUND: Decisions regarding the use of surgical procedures for the palliation of symptoms caused by advanced malignancies require the highest level of surgical judgment. Prospective analysis of palliative surgical care may facilitate a more effective and representative evaluation of these patients. METHODS: Patients requiring surgery planned solely for the palliation of an advanced malignancy were offered entry onto this study. Outcome measurements were made before surgery and monthly thereafter until the patient's death. Accepted techniques of pain assessment, quality of life, and functional status were used. RESULTS: Between May 1997 and December 1999, 26 patients were enrolled. Although 46% (12 of 26) of patients demonstrated improvement in pain control or quality of life after palliative surgery, these benefits lasted a median of only 3.4 months. Palliative surgery was associated with significant postoperative complications in 35% (9 of 26) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although many patients had no apparent demonstrable benefit from surgery, surgeons were able to identify a group of patients who experienced significant benefits after a palliative procedure. The relationships between the patient and family members and the surgeon play an important role in decision-making throughout the palliative phase of cancer treatment.

District of Columbia↗

PubMed2002

Thyroid cancer yield in patients with Graves' disease selected for surgery on the basis of cold scintiscan defects.

Previous studies have suggested that thyroid nodules found in patients with Graves' disease (GD) have a higher likelihood of being malignant, and that thyroid cancer behaves more aggressively when associated with GD, although both of these assertions remain controversial. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of cold scintiscan (SC) defects in patients with GD, and to determine the prevalence of thyroid cancer in such patients. Our secondary objective was to determine if there are any risk factors for developing cold defects by comparing clinical characteristics of both GD patients with cold SC defects and age and gender-matched GD patients without cold defects. We included in this analysis patients with a confirmed diagnosis of GD for whom SC results and adequate follow-up information were available. Clinic records were available in 772 patients with GD. Of these, 325 patients met eligibility criteria. Cold defects were found in 39 of 325 (12.0%) patients. Among these, 22 (56.4%) were referred for surgery, of whom 6 (1.85% of all GD patients, 15.2% of GD patients with cold nodules, 25% of GD patients with palpable nodules, and 27.3% of those undergoing surgery) had papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in the location corresponding to the SC defect. In 2 PTC patients, no palpable abnormality corresponded to the cold defect found to contain cancer at surgery. One PTC patient was found to have metastatic disease to bone, and 2 additional PTC patients required multiple therapies with radioiodine. Compared to age and gender-matched control patients with GD and without cold SC defects, there were no differences in radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU), goiter size, duration of disease, degree of elevation in microsomal antibody (MA) titers, or thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI). We conclude that thyroid scintigraphy is an important preliminary test in the evaluation of patients with GD, and that the prevalence of thyroid cancer in the location corresponding to a focal cold SC defect provides justification for further diagnostic evaluation or surgical management.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Core biopsy diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ: an indication for sentinel lymph node biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a minimally invasive, accurate method of evaluating axillary lymph nodes in patients with invasive cancer. The technique has also been applied successfully in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The purpose of this study was to review our experience performing SLNB in patients with a biopsy diagnosis of DCIS. METHODS: A prospective study of consecutive patients seen at our institution from August 2001 to April 2004 with a biopsy diagnosis of DCIS was undertaken. Demographic data, biopsy method, final pathology, and surgical treatment were recorded. Patients undergoing SLNB were identified, and pathologic results were noted. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients with a biopsy diagnosis of DCIS were treated. Fifty-five (64.7%) had their diagnosis made by excisional biopsy, and 30 (35.3%) by core biopsy. Forty-four (51.7%) patients underwent SLNB as part of their definitive surgical procedure, and an SLN was successfully identified in 41 (93.2%). Nine (22.0%) patients who underwent successful SLNB had a positive SLN, 2 by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and 7 by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for cytokeratin. Both patients with H&E-positive SLN were ultimately found to have invasive disease in their primary lesion. Final pathologic assessment of all primary lesions revealed invasive carcinoma in 7, 6 of whom had their diagnosis made by core biopsy. Overall, 20.0% of patients with a core biopsy diagnosis of DCIS were upstaged to invasive disease. Whether the lesion was palpable, grade and the presence or absence of necrosis were not significantly different in patients ultimately found to have invasive disease versus those who did not. DISCUSSION: Sentinel lymph node biopsy can be performed accurately in patients with a biopsy diagnosis of DCIS. The rate of axillary disease in patients with pure, completely resected DCIS is low; therefore, SLNB is not indicated in all patients with this biopsy diagnosis. Because of a high rate of invasive disease on the final pathology of patients with DCIS diagnosed by core biopsy, these patients should be offered SLNB.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of changing gamma count threshold on sentinel lymph node accuracy.

PURPOSE: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy has been increasingly accepted in many centers as an alternative to axillary lymph node dissection in the nodal staging of breast cancer. The goal of SLN biopsy is to accurately stage the axilla while minimizing postoperative morbidity. Theoretically, the continuing search for SLNs disrupts additional lymphatics and impacts on operative time. The gamma count threshold is a predefined threshold percentage of the ex vivo count of the "hottest" SLN, which when applied to each individually excised lymph node determines whether a given lymph node is the SLN or a non-SLN. The higher the threshold percentage, the less the number of lymph nodes will meet the criteria of being an SLN. This study examines the hypothesis that changing the gamma count threshold from 10% to 50% will not significantly affect accuracy or the false-negative rate. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients who underwent SLN biopsy with or without completion axillary lymph node dissection from March 1995 to January 2001 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Data were collected on gamma counts for each SLN and histopathology of each SLN. For each SLN ex vivo gamma count, percentage of the ex vivo gamma count of the "hottest" SLN was calculated. RESULTS: The SLN identification success rate was 94% (163 out of 174 patients). On average, 2.07 SLNs were removed per patient and 58% of patients had more than 1 SLN removed (94 out of 163 patients). Only 10% had 4 or more SLNs removed (17 out of 163 patients). Sentinel lymph node metastasis was found in 21% of patients (35 of 163 patients). Of these 35 patients with positive SLNs, 8 patients had a negative "hottest" SLN when a less radioactive SLN was positive for metastasis. Changing the gamma count threshold from 10% to 50% lowers the extrapolated accuracy from 98% to 95% and increases the extrapolated false-negative rate from 8% to 21%. CONCLUSIONS: The accuracy and false-negative rate of SLN biopsy varies based on the lower limit gamma threshold. Maintaining our 10% gamma count threshold results in acceptable accuracy and false-negative rates comparable to reported literature.

Journal Article↗