Metástasis orales y maxilares: análisis clínico retrospectivo de 21 casos

Retrospective descriptive study of 21 oral soft tissue and/or maxillary bone metastatic cases. Materials and methods: Hospital records of our own department are reviewed for a 12-year period. Lymphoproliferative diseases, skin metastases, salivary glands, other craniofacial bones and cervical lymph-nodes are excluded. Epidemiologic, personal health, clinical, treatment and follow-up data are recollected and analysed in frequency statistics. Results: Male:Female ratio is 1.3:1, year-old range 52-82 and ethnic group 100 % white-caucasian. 19.0 % have carcinogenic occupational exposure, 52.4 % tobacco abuse, 61.9 % some kind of alcohol use, 57.1 % cardiovascular risk, 19.0 % cardiologic records, 28.6 % pulmonary, 19.0 % gastrointestinal, 19.0 % endocrine, 14.3 % genitourinary, 9.5 % other primary malignancy and 23.8% a first-degree relative with a neoplasm. 33.3 % patients have taken osteonecrosis-related drugs or received craniofacial radiotherapy. Metastasis is the debut in 7 patients while it corresponds to infirmity progression in 14. The chief reason for consultation is a mass. 8 lesions affect soft tissue and 13 the bone. 81.0 % have epithelial neoplasm lineages. The organ of origin is: 23.8 % lung, 23.8 breast, 23.8 % kidney, 9.5 % skin, 9.5 % soft parts, 4.8 % prostate and 4.8 % thyroid. 100 % have other location metastases. 14.3 % patients undergo surgery, 38.1 % receive radiotherapy, 47.6 % chemo- or targeted therapy, and 28.6 % symptomatic treatment. After a 1-124 months range of follow-up, 17 patients die and 4 are alive. Conclusions: Craniomaxillofacial metastases, usually with multiple visceral or axial skeleton lesions, have an ominous prognosis. Multidisciplinary management could benefit the patient status and lead to more favourable outcomes. There are exceptional cases of long-term survival.Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo de 21 casos de metástasis en tejidos blandos orales y/o huesos maxilares. Material y métodos: Revisión a 12 años de actas de nuestro departamento, excluyendo procesos linfoproliferativos, metástasis cutáneas, glándulas salivales, otros huesos craneofaciales y ganglios cervicales. Se recopilan datos epidemiológicos, antecedentes, clínicos, tratamiento y seguimiento, y analizan mediante estadísticos de frecuencia. Resultados: La proporción varón:mujer es 1,3:1, entre 52-82 años y todos de etnia blanco-caucásica. El 19,0 % tiene exposición laboral carcinógena, el 52,4 % tabaquismo, el 61,9 % consumo de alcohol, el 57,1 % riesgo cardiovascular, el 19,0 % patología cardiaca, el 28,6 % pulmonar, el 19 % gastrointestinal, el 19 % endocrina, el 14,3 % genitourinaria, el 9,5 % otro tumor maligno primario y el 23,8 % un familiar de primer grado con una neoplasia, el 33,3 % ha tomado fármacos asociados a osteonecrosis o recibido radioterapia craneofacial. Siete pacientes debutan con la metástasis y 14 como progresión de neoplasia conocida. El motivo de consulta principal es una masa. Ocho lesiones afectan a tejidos blandos y 13 al hueso. El 81 % son tumores de estirpe epitelial. El origen es: 23,8 % pulmón, 23,8 % mama, 23,8 % renal, 9,5 % piel, 9,5 % partes blandas, 4,8 % próstata y 4,8 % tiroides. El 100 % tiene metástasis en otras localizaciones. El 14,3% pacientes son tratados con cirugía, el 38,1 % con radioterapia, el 47,6 % con quimio- o terapia dirigida, y el 28,6 % con tratamiento sintomático. 17 pacientes fallecidos y 4 vivos con rango 1-124 meses de seguimiento. Conclusiones: Las metástasis craneomaxilofaciales, habitualmente con múltiples lesiones viscerales o en esqueleto axial, tienen pronóstico infausto. El manejo multidisciplinar podría beneficiar el estado basal del paciente y llevar a mejores resultados. Existen casos excepcionales de supervivencia a largo plazo

Role of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT in head and neck oncology: the point of view of the radiation oncologist

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignant tumour of the head and neck. The initial TNM staging, the evaluation of the tumour response during treatment, and the long-term surveillance are crucial moments in the approach to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Thus, at each of these moments, the choice of the best diagnostic tool providing the more precise and larger information is crucial. Positron emission tomography with fluorine-18 fludeoxyglucose integrated with CT (F-18-FDG-PET/CT) rapidly gained clinical acceptance, and it has become an important imaging tool in routine clinical oncology. However, controversial data are currently available, for example, on the role of F-18-FDG-PET/CT imaging during radiotherapy planning, the prognostic value or its real clinical impact on treatment decisions. In this article, the role of F-18-FDG-PET/CT imaging in HNSCC during pre-treatment staging, radiotherapy planning, treatment response assessment, prognosis and follow-up is reviewed focusing on current evidence and controversial issues. A proposal on how to integrate F-18-FDG-PET/CT in daily clinical practice is also described

Detection of risk factors that influence weight loss in patients undergoing radiotherapy

AbstractAimTo identify risk factors that influence weight loss in patients receiving radiotherapy.BackgroundIt is a well-known fact that cancer patients can be affected by malnutrition at the onset of the disease and during treatment due to the toxicity. Pretreatment weight loss alone does not predict those who will need nutritional supplementation. Instead, a variety of nutritional and tumor related factors needs to be taken into account.Material and methodsA retrospective study was conducted on 129 patients with different tumor locations. Weight loss was evaluated during radiotherapy and one month after treatment. The impact of age, ECOG, chemotherapy, pretreatment weight loss, tumor location, previous surgery and TNM were analyzed. We aimed to identify a high-risk group of patients before starting treatment.ResultsThe average net weight loss during radiotherapy and one month after treatment for this group of patients was 0.68kg and 1.6kg, respectively. Median weight loss during radiotherapy was 2.6 kg for head and neck (HN) patients and 0.27 kg for other tumor sites (p=0.028). Median weight loss one month after radiotherapy was 3.7kg for HN patients and 1.1kg for the rest of the patients (p=0.034). The median weight loss one month after treatment was 3.2 kg for patients receiving chemotherapy and 0.5kg for those patients who did not receive chemotherapy (p<0.001). A regression analysis determined that HN tumor location and the use of chemotherapy were independent risk factors.ConclusionsNutritional status must be monitored and managed before, during and after treatment. A variety of nutritional and tumor-related factors must be considered. According to our results, head and neck tumors and the use of chemotherapy are the only two factors considered statistically significant. Because patients continue to lose weight after treatment, we recommend close surveillance after radiotherapy

Impact of SARS-Cov-2 infection in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy : results of an international multicentre registry

To describe the natural history of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) compared with a control group and to identify predictors of adverse events. Three hundred and five patients [age 56.6 ± 16.9 years old, 191 (62.6%) male patients] with HCM and SARS-Cov-2 infection were enrolled. The control group consisted of 91 131 infected individuals. Endpoints were (i) SARS-CoV-2 related mortality and (ii) severe clinical course [death or intensive care unit (ICU) admission]. New onset of atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias, shock, stroke, and cardiac arrest were also recorded. Sixty-nine (22.9%) HCM patients were hospitalized for non-ICU level care, and 21 (7.0%) required ICU care. Seventeen (5.6%) died: eight (2.6%) of respiratory failure, four (1.3%) of heart failure, two (0.7%) suddenly, and three (1.0%) due to other SARS-CoV-2-related complications. Covariates associated with mortality in the multivariable were age {odds ratio (OR) per 10 year increase 2.25 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12-4.51], P = 0.0229}, baseline New York Heart Association class [OR per one-unit increase 4.01 (95%CI: 1.75-9.20), P = 0.0011], presence of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction [OR 5.59 (95%CI: 1.16-26.92), P = 0.0317], and left ventricular systolic impairment [OR 7.72 (95%CI: 1.20-49.79), P = 0.0316]. Controlling for age and sex and comparing HCM patients with a community-based SARS-CoV-2 cohort, the presence of HCM was associated with a borderline significant increased risk of mortality OR 1.70 (95%CI: 0.98-2.91, P = 0.0600). Over one-fourth of HCM patients infected with SARS-Cov-2 required hospitalization, including 6% in an ICU setting. Age and cardiac features related to HCM, including baseline functional class, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and systolic impairment, conveyed increased risk of mortality

La convergencia y cohesión económica española en la Zona Euro

El objetivo de este informe es presentar una serie de propuestas encaminadas a mejorar la convergencia y cohesión entre la economía española y la de la UE. Estas propuestas se centran particularmente en el incremento de la competitividad de la empresa española en la zona Euro desde dos puntos diferentes de actuación, el de la Administración y el de la Empresa, y bajo una doble perspectiva de análisis, la económica y la de marketing. Estas actuaciones, tanto unas como otras, se plantean como absolutamente necesarias y complementarias para incrementar la competitividad de nuestra oferta. Como resultado de su aplicación conjunta se espera obtener una mejora importante en términos de competitividad y, por consiguiente, una disminución de la tradicional alta elasticidad al precio de las exportaciones españolas a la Zona Euro que es el mal endémico que ha padecido nuestra oferta a este mercado. Finalmente, se destaca la necesidad de coordinación de todas las actuaciones entre las distintas Administraciones y empresas para aprovechar al máximo las sinergias, evitar duplicidades de esfuerzos.Cohesión, Competitividad, Convergencia, Elasticidad de demanda de las Exportaciones, Made in e Internacionalización

Reliability of commercial triple junction concentrator solar cells under real climatic conditions and its influence on electricity cost

This paper proposes a methodology for assessing the concentrator solar cell reliability in a real application for a given location provided the results from accelerated life tests. We have applied this methodology for the evaluation of warranty times of commercial triple junction solar cells operating inside real concentrator modules in Golden (Colorado, USA), Madrid (Spain) and Tucson (Arizona, USA) for the period 2012–2015. Warranty times in Golden and Madrid, namely, 68 and 31 years, respectively, for the analysed period, indicate the robustness of commercial triple junction solar cells. Nevertheless, the warranty time of 15 years for Tucson suggests the need of improvement in the heat extraction of the solar cell within the concentrator module. Therefore, the influence of the location on the reliability of concentrator solar cells is huge, and it has no sense to supply general reliability values for a given concentrator product. The influence of these warranty times for the three locations on the levelised cost of electricity has been analysed. Cost of €c10–12/kWh can be achieved nowadays, while after 1 GWp cumulative installed power, a dramatic reduction to levels of €c2–3/kWh is achievable

Influence of concentration and solar cell size on the warranty time of triple junction solar cells

In a previous work the warranty time of commercial lattice-matched GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge triple junction concentrator solar cells was evaluated under real climatic conditions. The solar cells had a size of 7x7 mm operating with an efficiency of 35% at 820×. For these particular solar cells the warranty time for three locations, Golden (CO-USA), Madrid (Spain), and Tucson AZUSA), exhibits a 4 to 1 ratio, which affects the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) in an important way. In this work, we go a step further evaluating the influence of concentration and solar cell size on the warranty for a specific thermal design

Associations between Psychological Variables, Knowledge, Attitudes, Risk Perceptions and Health Behaviours towards COVID-19 among Adolescents

There is currently little scientific evidence available that allows us to understand patterns of knowledge, risk perception, attitudes, and behaviours among adolescents in relation to COVID-19. This study aims to analyse the relationship between knowledge about COVID-19, risk perception, and psychological variables and the adherence to preventive measures among the adolescent population. It is a descriptive cross-sectional study, which included adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 (n = 354). The questionnaire was sent to several secondary schools chosen by convenience sampling and following a non-probabilistic snowball sampling. Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were carried out in order to determine whether knowledge about COVID-19, risk perception, tolerance of frustration, planning and decision-making, family functionality, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and social skills are related to preventive measures. The adoption among adolescents of behaviours which protect them against COVID-19 depends on knowledge about the disease, the perception of the risk it poses to them, as well as their tolerance of frustration and planning and decision-making abilities. The relationship between the individual variables among adolescents with the adoption of behaviours which protect them against COVID-19 has been confirmed. The development of intervention and communication strategies that take the psychosocial situation of adolescents into account will help to increase the adoption of protective health behaviours in the context of a pandemic

Detection of risk factors that influence weight loss in patients undergoing radiotherapy

AimTo identify risk factors that influence weight loss in patients receiving radiotherapy.BackgroundIt is a well-known fact that cancer patients can be affected by malnutrition at the onset of the disease and during treatment due to the toxicity. Pretreatment weight loss alone does not predict those who will need nutritional supplementation. Instead, a variety of nutritional and tumor related factors needs to be taken into account.Material and methodsA retrospective study was conducted on 129 patients with different tumor locations. Weight loss was evaluated during radiotherapy and one month after treatment. The impact of age, ECOG, chemotherapy, pretreatment weight loss, tumor location, previous surgery and TNM were analyzed. We aimed to identify a high-risk group of patients before starting treatment.ResultsThe average net weight loss during radiotherapy and one month after treatment for this group of patients was 0.68[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]kg and 1.6[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]kg, respectively. Median weight loss during radiotherapy was 2.6 kg for head and neck (HN) patients and 0.27 [[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]kg for other tumor sites (p[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]=[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]0.028). Median weight loss one month after radiotherapy was 3.7[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]kg for HN patients and 1.1[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]kg for the rest of the patients (p[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]=[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]0.034). The median weight loss one month after treatment was 3.2 kg for patients receiving chemotherapy and 0.5[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]kg for those patients who did not receive chemotherapy (p[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]

Quality of life improvement in patients with bone metastases undergoing palliative radiotherapy

Background: The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of palliative radiotherapy on quality of life (QoL) in patients with symptomatic bone metastases. Materials and methods: We present the results from a prospective multicentric study including 128 patients who provided pre- and post-radiotherapy (one month after treatment) brief pain inventory (BPI) assessments. Worst pain was recorded using the BPI (range: 0–10). Pain response was described according to the International Bone Metastases Consensus on palliative radiation. Regarding QoL, for each pre- and post-radiation BPI-questionnaire, scores from the interference domains were summed and averaged to obtain an overall interference score. Results: There was a significant correlation between radiation treatment response and improvement in all functional interference domains except sleeping. Patients &gt; 75 years old presented a significantly higher improvement in general activity, mood and relationships with others compared to patients ≤ 75 years old. Patients presenting a baseline pain score ≥ 8 showed a higher improvement in the general activity item (p = 0.049). There was no statistically significant association between pretreatment ECOG, chemotherapy, primary tumor location and radiation schedule with any of the functional interference items. Conclusions: Patients who report pain relief after palliative radiotherapy also present a better quality of life including physical and psychosocial aspects