A review of the epidemiology and treatment of Merkel cell carcinoma

Merkel cell carcinoma is a very rare and aggressive neoplasm. Due to its rarity, therapeutic guidelines are not well established, especially for regionally advanced disease. Articles in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish from the last 20 years were identified in MEDLINE and reviewed. The key word “Merkel” was used for the search, relevant articles were selected, and their references were examined. The most important articles related to epidemiology, genesis and treatment were reviewed. The incidence of Merkel cell carcinoma is increasing due to the advancing age of the population, higher rates of sun exposure and an increasing number of immunocompromised individuals. With regard to etiology, the recently described Merkel Cell polyomavirus is thought to play a role. Either local or regional surgical intervention remains the standard of care, but adjuvant radiotherapy or radiotherapy as a primary treatment have been discussed as reasonable therapeutic options. An update on this rare neoplasia is essential because of its increasing incidence and changing treatment options

Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Herapy for Soft Tissue Sarcomas of the Extremities

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies for soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities are still controversial. The aim of this study was to analyze the results of a protocol of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for extremity sarcomas. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was carried out in a consecutive series of 49 adult patients with advanced extremity soft tissue sarcomas that could not be resected with adequate margins during the primary resection. All patients were treated with a protocol of preoperative radiation therapy at a total dose of 30 Gy, concomitant with doxorubicin (60 mg/m²) chemotherapy. The main endpoints assessed were local recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival and overall survival. The median follow-up time was 32.1 months. RESULTS: The five-year local recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival and overall survival rates were 81.5%, 46.7% and 58.3%, respectively. For high-grade tumors, the five-year metastasis-free and overall survival rates were only 36.3% and 41.2%, respectively. Severe wound complications were observed in 41.8% of the patients who underwent surgery. These complications precluded adjuvant chemotherapy in 73.7% (14/19) of the patients eligible to receive it. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy was associated with a good local control rate, but the distant relapse-free rate and overall survival rate were still poor. The high rate of wound complications modified the planning of adjuvant treatment in most patients

Update on neurosurgical treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder

Responses to pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) range from 60 to 80% of cases. However, a subset of OCD patients do not respond to adequately conducted treatment trials, leading to severe psychosocial impairment. Stereotactic surgery can be indicated then as the last resource. Five surgical techniques are available, with the following rates of global post-operative improvement: anterior capsulotomy (38-100%); anterior cingulotomy (27-57%); subcaudate tractotomy (33-67%); limbic leucotomy (61-69%), and central lateral thalamotomy/anterior medial pallidotomy (62.5%). The first technique can be conducted as a standard neurosurgery, as radiosurgery or as deep brain stimulation. In the standard neurosurgery neural circuits are interrupted by radiofrequency. In radiosurgery, an actinic lesion is provoked without opening the brain. Deep brain stimulation consists on implanting electrodes which are activated by stimulators. Literature reports a relatively low prevalence of adverse events and complications. Neuropsychological and personality changes are rarely reported. However, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials to prove efficacy and adverse events/complication issues among these surgical procedures. Concluding, there is a recent development in the neurosurgeries for severe psychiatric disorders in the direction of making them more efficacious and safer. These surgeries, when correctly indicated, can profoundly alleviate the suffering of severe OCD patients.O transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo (TOC) responde aos tratamentos habituais (fármacos e psicoterapia) em cerca de 60 a 80% dos casos. Existe, assim, uma parcela de pacientes resistente aos tratamentos usuais, mesmo que adequadamente conduzidos, com grave prejuízo psicossocial. Nestas situações, a neurocirurgia pode ser indicada. Existem cinco técnicas cirúrgicas disponíveis, com as seguintes taxas de melhora global pós-operatória: capsulotomia anterior (38 a 100%); cingulotomia anterior (27 a 57%); tractotomia subcaudado (33 a 67%); leucotomia límbica (61 a 69%) e talamotomia central lateral com palidotomia anteromedial (62,5%). A capsulotomia anterior pode ser realizada através de diferentes técnicas: neurocirurgia padrão, radiocirurgia ou estimulação cerebral profunda. Na neurocirurgia padrão, circuitos neurais são interrompidos por radiofreqüência via trepanação no crânio. Na radiocirurgia, uma lesão actínica é induzida sem a necessidade de abertura do crânio. A estimulação cerebral profunda consiste na implantação de eletrodos ativados a partir de estimuladores. A literatura indica taxas relativamente baixas de eventos adversos e complicações, sendo raramente descritas alterações neuropsicológicas e de personalidade. Cumpre ressaltar, no entanto, a falta de ensaios clínicos randomizados que comprovem a eficácia e investiguem os eventos adversos ou complicações dos procedimentos cirúrgicos acima mencionados. Concluindo, há um recente aprimoramento das neurocirurgias dos transtornos psiquiátricos graves no sentido de torná-las cada vez mais eficazes e seguras. Estas cirurgias, quando adequadamente indicadas, podem trazer alívio substancial ao sofrimento de pacientes com TOC grave.Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de PsiquiatriaInstituto de Radiocirurgia NeurológicaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PsiquiatriaUNIFESP, Depto. de PsiquiatriaSciEL

Dentin-pulp complex reactions in conventional and radiation-related caries : a comparative study

Radiation-related caries (RRC) is one of the most significant oral toxicities of head and neck radiotherapy (HNRT); however, the potential of radiation to directly cause harmful dentin and pulpal effects and impair response to caries progression is controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the reactions of the dentin-pulp complex in teeth affected by RRC. Patients and methods: Twenty-two carious teeth extracted from 22 head and neck cancer (HNC) patients were divided into control (conventional caries; n=11) and irradiated (RRC; n=11) groups and paired matched by dental homology, clinical patterns of caries progression following the Post-Radiation Dental Index (PRDI) and microscopic depth of carious invasion. Histopathological characteristics based on morphological hierarchy, cell populations of dental pulp, blood vessels, neural elements, extracellular matrix components, inflammation, patterns of carious invasion and reactionary dentin presence were evaluated by optical light microscopy and histomorphometry. Mean PRDI scores were 3.2 for the control group and 3.8 for the irradiated group. Dentin demineralization patterns were also similar between the groups and the mean depths of demineralization were 1,158.58µm and 1,056.89µm for the control and irradiated groups, respectively. Pulp histopathological changes and dentin reaction patterns were similar between groups and varied according to the PRDI scores and carious lesions depth. Dentin and pulp reactions are highly preserved in RRC teeth

Salvage for cervical recurrences of head and neck cancer with dissection and interstitial high dose rate brachytherapy

Salvage therapy in head and neck cancer (HNC) is a controversy issue and the literature is scarce regarding the use of interstitial high-dose rate brachytherapy (I-HDR) in HNC. We evaluated the long-term results of a treatment policy combining salvage surgery and I-HDR for cervical recurrences of HNC. Charts of 21 patients treated from 1994 to 2004 were reviewed. The crude local control rate for all patients was 52.4%. The 5- and 8-years overall (OS) and local relapse-free survival (LRFS) rates were 50%, 42.9%, 42.5% and 28.6%, respectively. The only predictive factor associated to LFRS and OS was negative margin status (p = 0.0007 and p = 0.0002). We conclude that complete surgery is mandatory for long term control and the doses given by brachytherapy are not high enough to compensate for microscopic residual disease after surgery

Tratamento conservador do carcinoma do canal anal

OBJETIVO: Relatar os resultados do tratamento conservador do carcinoma de canal anal com radioterapia e quimioterapia do Centro de Tratamento e Pesquisa Hospital do Câncer A.C. Camargo. MÉTODO: De março de 1993 a dezembro de 2001, 47 pacientes com diagnóstico histológico de carcinoma do canal anal foram tratados de forma conservadora. A dose mediana de radioterapia na pelve e no tumor primário foi respectivamente de 45 e 55 Gy. A quimioterapia foi realizada com 5- Fluorouracil e Mitomicina-C, com doses medianas de 1000 mg/m² por quatro dias e 10 mg/m² por ciclo, respectivamente. Trinta e oito (80,8%) pacientes não receberam radioterapia em região inguinal. O tempo de seguimento mediano foi de 40 meses (oito dias a 116 meses). RESULTADOS: A resposta completa foi alcançada em 40 pacientes (85,1%). O controle local foi obtido em 31 (66%), e a função esfincteriana foi preservada em 38 (80,9%) casos. Metástases à distância foram detectadas em sete (14,9%) pacientes. A sobrevida global e sobrevida livre de doença em cinco anos foram de 61,5% e 50,1%, respectivamente. A sobrevida global e a sobrevida livre de doença em cinco anos para os pacientes que tiveram controle local foram 77,8% (p < 0,001) e 74,4% (p < 0,001). A sobrevida global e livre de doença em cinco anos para os pacientes com linfonodo inguinal clinicamente tumoral foi de 70,7% e 56,7%, respectivamente (p = 0,0085 e p = 0,0207). Doze (25,5%) pacientes necessitaram de interrupção temporária do tratamento. Cinco pacientes tiveram complicações crônicas leves. CONCLUSÃO: O tratamento realizado foi efetivo tanto para preservação do esfíncter anal quanto para controle local de doença. A presença de linfonodo inguinal clinicamente tumoral e a ausência de recidiva foram os principais fatores prognósticos para sobrevida global e sobrevida livre de doença. A taxa relativamente alta de recidiva em região inguinal sugere a necessidade de radioterapia eletiva nessa região