The benefit of consolidation radiotherapy to initial disease bulk in patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease who achieved complete remission after standard chemotherapy

Yasser Bayoumi,1,2 Abdulaziz Al-Homaidi,3 Syed Zaidi,3 Imran Tailor,3 Ibrahiem Motiabi,3 Nawal Alshehri,3 Assem Al-Ghazali,3 Samer Almudaibigh3 1Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Egypt; 2Radiation Oncology Department, 3Department of Haematology and Oncology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Background/purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of consolidation radiotherapy (RT) in advanced-stage Hodgkin's disease (HD) with initial bulky sites after radiological complete remission (CR) or partial response (PR) with positron emission tomography-negative (metabolic CR) following standard chemotherapy (ABVD [Adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine]) six to eight cycles. Patients and methods: Adult patients with advanced-stage HD treated at our institute during the period 2006 to 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. One hundred and ninety-two patients with initial bulky disease size (>7 cm) who attained radiological CR/PR and metabolic CR were included in the analysis. One hundred and thirteen patients who received radiotherapy (RT) as consolidation postchemotherapy (RT group) were compared to 79 patients who did not receive RT (non-RT group). Disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and were compared according to treatment group by the log-rank tests at P ≤0.05 significance level. Results: The mean age of the cohort was 33 (range: 14 to 81) years. Eighty-four patients received involved-field radiation and 29 patients received involved-site RT. The RT group had worse prognostic factors compared to the non-RT group. Thirteen (12%) relapses occurred in the RT group, and 19 (24%) relapses occurred in the non-RT group. Nine patients (8%) in the RT group died, compared to eleven patients (14%) in the non-RT group. Second malignancies were seen in only five patients: three patients in the RT group compared to two patients in the non-RT group. At 5 years, overall DFS was 79%±9% and OS was 85%±9%. There was significant statistical difference between the RT group and the non-RT group regarding 5-year DFS: 86%±7% and 74%±9%, respectively (P ≤0.02). However, the 5-year OS was 90%±5% for the RT group and 83%±8% for the non-RT group, with no statistical difference (P ≤0.3). Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that consolidation RT in patients with advanced-stage HD with initial bulky disease who had postchemotherapy radiologic CR or PR with metabolic CR improved the DFS. Keywords: Hodgkin's disease, radiological and metabolic complete remission, involved-field radiation, involved-site radiation&nbsp

Management of hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease: frequently asked questions and answers (if any)

Graves\u2019 disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in iodine-replete areas. Although progress has been made in our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, no treatment targeting pathogenic mechanisms of the disease is presently available. Therapies for Graves\u2019 hyperthyroidism are largely imperfect because they are bound to either a high rate of relapsing hyperthyroidism (antithyroid drugs) or lifelong hypothyroidism (radioiodine treatment or thyroidectomy). Aim of the present article is to offer a practical guidance to the reader by providing evidence-based answers to frequently asked questions in clinical practice

Preoperative nasopharyngeal swab testing and postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing elective surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Surgical services are preparing to scale up in areas affected by COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the association between preoperative SARS-CoV-2 testing and postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing elective cancer surgery. METHODS: This international cohort study included adult patients undergoing elective surgery for cancer in areas affected by SARS-CoV-2 up to 19 April 2020. Patients suspected of SARS-CoV-2 infection before operation were excluded. The primary outcome measure was postoperative pulmonary complications at 30 days after surgery. Preoperative testing strategies were adjusted for confounding using mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Of 8784 patients (432 hospitals, 53 countries), 2303 patients (26.2 per cent) underwent preoperative testing: 1458 (16.6 per cent) had a swab test, 521 (5.9 per cent) CT only, and 324 (3.7 per cent) swab and CT. Pulmonary complications occurred in 3.9 per cent, whereas SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in 2.6 per cent. After risk adjustment, having at least one negative preoperative nasopharyngeal swab test (adjusted odds ratio 0.68, 95 per cent confidence interval 0.68 to 0.98; P = 0.040) was associated with a lower rate of pulmonary complications. Swab testing was beneficial before major surgery and in areas with a high 14-day SARS-CoV-2 case notification rate, but not before minor surgery or in low-risk areas. To prevent one pulmonary complication, the number needed to swab test before major or minor surgery was 18 and 48 respectively in high-risk areas, and 73 and 387 in low-risk areas. CONCLUSION: Preoperative nasopharyngeal swab testing was beneficial before major surgery and in high SARS-CoV-2 risk areas. There was no proven benefit of swab testing before minor surgery in low-risk areas