A Unique Presentation of Occult Primary Breast Cancer with a Review of the Literature

We are reporting a case of a 34-year-old woman with occult primary breast cancer discovered after initially presenting with neurological symptoms. She was successfully treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by definitive axillary lymph node dissection and ipsilateral whole breast radiotherapy. The case presented is unique due to the rarity of occult primary breast cancer, especially in light of her initial confounding neurological signs and symptoms, which highlights the importance of careful staging

Novel Pilot Curriculum for International Education of Lymphoma Management Using E-Contouring

Purpose: The International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group (ILROG) published consensus guidelines on the management of Hodgkin disease (HD) and nodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), which became the most downloaded articles from International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics. E-contouring workshops allow for interactive didactic sessions, allowing participants to see case-based contouring in real time. A pilot 1-hour curriculum was developed with the objective of reviewing ILROG guidelines for HD and NHL management with incorporation of e-contouring tools. This represents the first international education intervention in Spanish using e-contouring with a pre- and postintervention questionnaire. Methods: A 1-hour presentation was prepared in Spanish reviewing the ILROG recommendations for HD and NHL. The review was followed by the author’s demonstration of contour creation using patients with HD and NHL prepared for the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s 2015 e-contouring lymphoma session. A five- question evaluation was prepared and administered before and after intervention. A two-tailed paired t test was performed to evaluate any significant change in test value before and after intervention. Results: A total of nine quizzes were collected before and after the intervention. The average test score before the intervention was 75.6%, and the average test score after the intervention was 86.7% (P = .051). Four students scored 100% on both the pre- and postintervention evaluations, and no student had a decrease in score from pre- to postintervention evaluation. The topic with the lowest score tested dose consideration. Conclusion: A substantial but nonsignificant improvement in test evaluation was seen with this pilot curriculum. This pilot intervention identified obstacles for truly interactive didactic sessions that, when addressed, can lead to fully developed interactive didactic sessions

Ambulatory pulse oximetry as a clinical aid for the diagnosis and treatment response of radiation pneumonitis

© 2015 American Society for Radiation Oncology. Purpose: Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a clinical diagnosis, with no single best method of detection currently available. This study evaluated whether a decline between resting (rPO) and ambulatory (aPO) pulse oximetry (PO) levels after concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (RT) can serve as a clinical aid in diagnosing and evaluating treatment response of grade 2-3 RP. Methods and materials: Between March 2007 and November 2013, rPO and aPO values were obtained from 55 patients immediately after definitive thoracic RT and at each subsequent visit, for up to 4 visits. Median values of the decline from rPO to aPO were compared between those with and without subsequent RP. A logistic regression model was used to determine an association between a drop in PO and, independently, clinically defined RP. Results: RP was identified in 19 of 55 patients, with a median time to diagnosis of 56 days after RT. Twelve patients (22%) were diagnosed with grade 2 RP and 7 (13%) with grade 3 RP. According to a Wilcoxon rank sum test, the median calculated drop between rPO and aPO was greater in RP patients than in those without RP (median 4.21 and 1.01, respectively; P\u3c.0001). After adjustment for total tumor dose and age, multivariate analyses revealed a 64.8% increase in the chance of RP development with every unit of decline in PO (P=0014). After initiation of treatment with a corticosteroid, the mean difference in PO drop was compared with patients\u27 baselines and demonstrated a statistically significant improvement, with peak PO value recovery after 2 weeks of corticosteroid therapy (P=0001). Conclusions: Patients diagnosed with RP demonstrated an early, measurable drop between rPO and aPO that was detected at or before diagnosis. Consequent recovery in PO followed treatment with corticosteroids. PO measurements are cost-effective and readily available, and they can be a valuable tool to aid in diagnosing RP and gauging treatment response