Follow-up in Head and Neck Cancer: Do More Does It Mean Do Better? A Systematic Review and Our Proposal Based on Our Experience

As the patients population ages, cancer screening increases, and cancer treatments improve, millions more head and neck carcinoma (HNC) patients will be classified as cancer survivors in the future. Change in epidemiology with human papillomavirus related HNC leads to a number of young treated patients. After treatment for HNC intensive surveillance, including ear, nose and throat (ENT) endoscopy, imaging, and serology, confers a survival benefit that became less evident in unresectable recurrence. We performed a comprehensive revision of literature and analyzed the experience of our centre. We revised publications on this topic and added data derived from the interdisciplinary work of experts within medical oncology, ENT, and radiation oncology scientific societies. We retrospectively collected local and distant recurrence of chemoradiation treated patients at Santa Croce and Carle University Hospital. A HNC follow-up program is not already codified and worldwide accepted. There is a need of scheduled follow-up. We suggest adopting a standardized follow-up guideline, although a multidisciplinary approach is frequently requested to tailor surveillance program and treatment on each patient

A rare case of appendicular skeleton localization in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia successfully treated with salvage radiation therapy

Bone involvements in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are considered rare events, and the English-language medical literature describes them only in sporadic case reports. Consequently, robust indications for a rational clinical management are lacking. We report the case of a middle-aged man in clinical follow-up for CLL who experienced pain at the right tibial level that was refractory to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and an acute episode of anemia. Instrumental examinations and a bioptic sample surprisingly demonstrated a bone tibial localization by CLL

Advances in EGFR-directed therapy in head and neck cancer

Initial research showed that EGFR targeting through known single agents, both monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, applied to patients with refractory head and neck cancer, resulted in low response rates and short median survival times. However, the combination of Cetuximab with radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced disease and with a combination of platinum and fluorouracil in the setting of relapsed and/or metastatic disease resulted in a sharp improvement compared to standard therapy. Cetuximab entered clinical practice in both indications. Other anti-EGFR drugs, although showing activity, have not demonstrated an improvement of the results of standard therapy. Unfortunately, no molecular parameter emerged as a useful tool in predicting activity, thus impairing clinical applications. Only skin rash was repeatedly shown to be related with drug activity. Although generally well tolerated, class and drug specific toxicities can be troublesome and require knowledge and expertise for an optimal management. Further research is needed in order to find the best ways of integrating the anti-EGFR strategy with current standards of care

An Incidental Finding of Mucinous Colon Cancer by 18F-Choline PET/CT Determining a Change in Clinical Management of a Patient with Recurrent Prostate Adenocarcinoma

A 66-year-old-man underwent a PET/CT scan after a biochemical relapse for a prostate cancer previously treated with a laparoscopic surgical procedure which revealed a focal uptake in the posterior wall of sigmoid colon. The biopsy demonstrated a colon cancer with mucinous differentiation producing a shift in clinical priority. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report in the English literature describing the detection by 18F-choline PET/CT of a colorectal cancer with mucinous differentiation

EGFR status and prognosis of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer treated with chemoradiotherapy

Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is related to poor prognosis in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with surgery or radiotherapy. We assessed the relationship between EGFR status and outcome in patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy

Ein Vergleich von Schluckst\uf6rungen nach dreidimensionaler konformaler und intensit\ue4tsmodulierter Strahlentherapie: Ein systematischer Review der \u201cItalian Head and Neck Radiotherapy Study Group\u201d

Purpose Dysphagia is one of the most important treatmentrelated side effects in head and neck cancer (HNC), as it can lead to severe life-threating complications such as aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) could reduce swallowing dysfunction by producing a concave dose distribution and reducing doses to the swallowing-related organs at risk (SWOARs). The aim of this study was to review the current literature in order to compare swallowing outcomes between IMRT and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). Methods A search was conducted in the PubMed and Embase databases to identify studies on swallowing outcomes, both clinically and/or instrumentally assessed, after 3DCRT and IMRT. Dysphagia-specific quality of life and objective instrumental data are summarized and discussed. Results A total of 262 papers were retrieved from the searched databases. An additional 23 papers were retrieved by hand-searching the reference lists. Ultimately, 22 papers were identified which discussed swallowing outcomes after 3DCRT and IMRT for HNC. No outcomes from randomized trials were identified. Conclusion Despite several methodological limitations, reports from the current literature seem to suggest better swallowing outcomes with IMRT compared to 3DCRT. Further improvements are likely to result from the increased use of IMRT plans optimized for SWOAR sparing