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Biomedical subjects

N J Cassisi

Publications and source records attributed to N J Cassisi.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Complications of sinusitis: what to watch for.

Sinus infection remains a common cause of orbital inflammatory disease, and prompt diagnosis is essential. A team approach early in the course of the disease, with an otolaryngologist serving as coordinator, is recommended. If vigorous medical therapy fails, abscess formation should be suspected and surgical drainage instituted without delay. Of 24 patients hospitalized with complications of sinusitis, 13 were found to have acute inflammatory disease and 11 had mucocele formation. Mortality in patients with acute inflammatory was 30%; in those with intracranial extension of infection it was 67%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Carcinoma of the tonsil: results of radical irradiation with surgery reserved for radiation failure.

This analysis reviews the treatment results of 58 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil who were treated by radical irradiation to the primary, with operation reserved for radiation failures. Postirradiation radical neck dissection was sometimes added as part of the initial treatment plan. The local control and absolute survival rates for T1-T2 lesions were quite good, and complications were minimal. On the other hand, the local control and absolute survival for T3-T4 lesions were only fair, and complications generally more severe, although mandibulectomy for osteonecrosis was not required in this small series. There appears to be no justification for combining operation with radiation in the initial attack for T1-T2 lesions. Although the T1-T2 lesions might as well be cured by operation alone, it would entail the loss of part of the mandible, pharyngeal wall, possibly some tongue and soft palate, and at least one radical neck dissection. At attempt at combining operation and irradiation for some T3 (T4) lesions appears justified by the high failure rate of radical irradiation alone. However, therapeutic zeal should be tempered by the realization that many of these patients are elderly or in poor general health, and an aggressive combined treatment approach may be unrealistic .

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed1977

Rhabdomyoma of the pharyngeal wall.

Rhabdomyoma is a rare benign tumor of skeletal muscle, and the head and neck region is the most common extracardiac area for these tumors to occur. Twenty-one cases have previously been reported, and this report, "A Rhabdomyoma of the Pharyngeal Wall," brings the total to 22. Pathologically, these tumors show abundant polygonal skeletal muscle cells with demonstrable cross striations. Differential diagnosis of these tumors has included granular cell myoblastoma and rhabdomyoscarcoma. Treatment is usually complete excision.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx: an alternative to surgery.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this article is to present the results of radiotherapy with or without neck dissection for squamous cell carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx at the University of Florida and to compare these data with those obtained after conservation surgery. METHODS: Continuous-course radiotherapy alone or combined with a planned neck dissection was used to treat 209 patients with 211 supraglottic carcinomas between 1964 and 1992; all patients had follow-up for > or = 2 years. RESULTS: The 5-year rates of local control after radiotherapy were as follows: T1, 100%; T2, 83%; T3, 68%; and T4, 56%. Tumor volume, as calculated on pretreatment computed tomography (CT) scan, and vocal cord mobility influenced the likelihood of local control. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our data and the literature, early or moderately advanced supraglottic carcinomas may be treated successfully with either supraglottic laryngectomy or radiotherapy. Supraglottic laryngectomy probably produces a higher initial local control rate but, based on anatomic and coexisting medical constraints, is suitable for a smaller subset of patients and has a higher risk of complications compared with radiotherapy.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Salvage surgery after radiotherapy failure in T1-T2 squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx.

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to analyze the clinical course of patients who developed local (primary) recurrence after high-dose irradiation of T1 -T2 squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx. METHODS: Between May 1977 and December 1989, 247 patients with previously untreated T1 and T2 invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx were treated for curative intent with radiotherapy. Local recurrence occurred in 26 of 247 patients (11%). Successful surgical salvage was defined as no evidence of recurrent cancer for at least 2 years after salvage surgery and continuously thereafter. RESULTS: Two patients refused to undergo salvage surgery and one patient had unresectable disease. Of 23 patients who underwent salvage surgery, 19 had a total laryngectomy and 4 had a voice-sparing procedure. One patient who was continuously free of disease, died less than 24 months after salvage surgery; this patient was excluded from all local control and survival analyses, leaving 22 patients available for analysis. Successful salvage was achieved initially in 13 (59%) of the 22 patients. Two patients with local failure after voice-sparing salvage surgery underwent completion laryngectomy; one was salvaged, so that 14 of 22 (64%) were ultimately salvaged. The rate of successful salvage did not correlate with preirradiation T stage, time to failure after irradiation, or time from clinical suspicion of recurrence to histologic proof. In a subgroup of patients (those with positive margins, tumor extension into the soft tissues of the neck, or two or more adverse histologic features), the risk of local-regional recurrence after salvage laryngectomy was 80%. CONCLUSION: There are few data in the literature regarding the clinical outcome of patients whose tumors are not controlled by initial radiotherapy. This series and previous publications from other institutions indicate that most patients who develop primary failure undergo salvage surgery, which is successful in approximately 50-80% of the patients. The rate of surgical complications is acceptable and is related to radiotherapy dose. At our institution, most patients who had recurrence after radiotherapy underwent total laryngectomy. More than 50% of the patients who experienced recurrence after irradiation originally had tumors of such extent that they would have required total laryngectomy if surgery had been recommended instead of radiotherapy for the initial treatment. It is reasonable to consider reirradiation in patients with a very high risk of local-regional recurrence after salvage laryngectomy.

Biopsy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Twice-a-day radiotherapy for T3 squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx.

Between March 1978 and April 1986, 21 previously untreated patients with T3 squamous cell carcinoma of the true vocal cord received radical courses of twice-a-day radiotherapy (120 cGy twice daily) to total doses of 7,440-7,680 cGy. The rate of local control at the primary site was 67% after radiotherapy. The ultimate control rate after salvage surgery was 83%. Five-year absolute and cause-specific survival rates were 59% and 81%, respectively. It is concluded that radiotherapy is a rational approach for many patients with T3 glottic cancer.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radiotherapy after excisional biopsy of carcinoma of the oral tongue/floor of the mouth.

This is an analysis of 16 patients with excisionally biopsied (TXN0) squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue (nine patients) and floor of mouth (seven patients) treated with radiotherapy. All patients had a minimum 2-year follow-up and 81% had at least 5 years of follow-up. One patient died of intercurrent disease 16 months after treatment and was excluded from analysis of local control. All patients were evaluable for analysis of survival and complications. Local control was achieved in 14 of 15 patients; one patient with local recurrence underwent a surgical salvage procedure, which was unsuccessful. No patients developed recurrent disease in the neck or in distant sites. Five-year absolute and cause-specific survival rates were 10 of 13 and 10 of 11, respectively.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Carcinoma of the skin of the head and neck with perineural invasion.

This is an analysis of 25 patients with carcinoma of the skin of the head and neck with clinical evidence of perineural invasion, who were managed with curative intent by radiotherapy alone (16) or surgery and radiotherapy (9). All patients had a minimum of 5 years of follow-up. Local control following treatment was observed in 20% of patients treated with radiotherapy alone and 38% of those treated with surgery and radiotherapy. Local control was diminished for recurrent lesions and for tumors that also invaded bone and/or cartilage. The 5-year absolute survival rates were 31% for patients treated with radiotherapy alone and 33% for those in the combined-treatment group. The incidence of significant complications was similar: 25% with radiotherapy alone and 33% with surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy.

Basal Cell Carcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neck dissection after twice-a-day radiotherapy: morbidity and recurrence rates.

Between March 1978 and April 1986, 56 patients underwent planned unilateral, and five patients underwent planned bilateral, radical neck dissections following high-dose twice-a-day radiotherapy, usually with 60Co. Neck dissections were generally performed 6 weeks after radiotherapy. The overall rate of control of disease in the neck in all 61 patients was 81% at 5 years. Patients who underwent neck dissections following radiotherapy had significantly higher rates of neck-disease control than patients treated by radiotherapy alone during the same time period for stages N2A-N3A and N2B-N3B, but not for N1 disease. No carotid ruptures or fatal complications occurred. The rate of wound complications was judged to be acceptable.

Head and Neck Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx: a basis for comparing the results of radiotherapy and surgery.

An analysis of 129 patients with 131 squamous cell carcinomas of the supraglottic larynx treated between October 1964 and April 1987 with radiotherapy alone or radiotherapy followed by neck dissection is presented. All patients had a minimum 2-year follow-up. Patients were excluded from analysis of disease control at the primary site and/or neck if they died within 2 years of treatment with the site(s) continuously disease-free. Local control rates with radiotherapy and ultimate local control rates, including patients successfully salvaged after a local recurrence, were as follows: T1, 13 of 13 and 13 of 13; T2, 34 of 42 (81%) and 37 of 42 (88%); T3, 25 of 41 (61%) and 34 of 41 (83%); and T4, 3 of 9 and 6 of 9. There was no significant difference in local control rates when comparing patients who were anatomically suitable for a supraglottic laryngectomy with those who would have required a total laryngectomy. Local control rates were slightly diminished in patients with T2-T3 lesions who had impaired or absent vocal cord mobility. The overall rates of ultimate local control with voice preservation for the entire series of 129 patients were as follows: T1, 100%; T2, 87%; T3, 69%; and T4, 57%. Cause-specific survival rates at 5 years by stage were I, 2 of 2; II, 10 of 12 (83%); III, 9 of 13 (69%); IVA, 4 of 6; and IVB, 7 of 22 (32%). The incidence of severe complications was 4 of 115 (3%) for T1-T3 lesions and 4 of 14 (29%) for T4 lesions.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cancer in neck nodes with unknown primary site: role of mucosal radiotherapy.

Sixty-nine patients with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma in neck nodes with an unknown primary lesion were treated with curative intent between October 1964 and December 1986. Sixty-five patients received radiotherapy to the neck and at least part of the mucosa of the head and neck, whereas 4 patients received treatment to the neck only. Mucosal doses were approximately 5,000 cGy-6,000 cGy at 170 cGy-180 cGy per fraction. Eight patients (12%) subsequently developed mucosal site failures, a figure that did not differ significantly from the incidence of a second metachronous head and neck cancer following definitive irradiation in a series of 393 patients with lesions of the supraglottic larynx, pharyngeal wall, pyriform sinus, or tonsillar area. This suggests that radiotherapy was highly effective in preventing the appearance of cancer at the unknown primary site from which the neck metastasis arose. Absolute and cause-specific 5-year survival rates were 48% and 66%, respectively.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Incisional or excisional neck-node biopsy before definitive radiotherapy, alone or followed by neck dissection.

An analysis of 508 patients (660 heminecks) with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and clinically positive neck nodes who were treated with radiotherapy alone to the primary lesion (with or without a neck dissection) was conducted to determine if open neck-node biopsy before definitive treatment adversely affected the probability of control of neck disease, the risk of distant metastasis, or the cause-specific survival rate. The prognostic factors analyzed included biopsy status of the neck, N stage, neck treatment, node mobility, node location, T stage, primary site, and control of disease above the clavicles. Sixty-six patients who had undergone an open neck-node biopsy before definitive radiotherapy were compared with a control group of 442 patients who did not undergo a neck-node biopsy; no detrimental effect of the biopsy on neck control, distant metastasis, or cause-specific survival was demonstrated. We conclude that the potential adverse effect of violating the neck before definitive treatment cannot be demonstrated if radiotherapy is the next step in the patient's management.

Biopsy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Carcinoma of the skin metastatic to parotid area lymph nodes.

This is a retrospective analysis of 60 patients with previously untreated metatypical basal cell (3 patients) or squamous cell (57 patients) carcinoma of the skin, metastatic to the parotid area. All patients had a minimum 2-year follow-up, and 43% had a minimum 5-year follow-up. Treatment was surgery alone (8 patients), irradiation alone (16 patients), or planned combined surgery and irradiation (36 patients). The ultimate rates of control of disease in the parotid area were surgery alone, 5 of 8 (63%); irradiation alone, 6 of 13 (46%); planned combined surgery and irradiation, 32 of 36 (89%). In the combined-treated group, all 4 recurrences were in patients who had positive surgical margins and gross involvement of the facial nerve. In patients with negative surgical margins, without involvement of the facial nerve, who had combined treatment, the control rate was 100%. Of the surgery-alone group, only 1 patient ultimately had the disease controlled and retained a functioning facial nerve.

Adult↗