Sara Abu-Ghanem

Elective Neck Dissection vs Observation in Early-Stage Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Tongue With No Clinically Apparent Lymph Node Metastasis in the Neck: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE The elective management of no clinical or radiologic evidence of lymph node metastasis in the neck (cN0) in early stage T1-T2 oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) has been the subject of much debate during the past 3 decades and continues to be controversial. OBJECTIVE To systematically review the literature and carry out a meta-analysis of studies that compared elective neck dissection (END) with observation in patients with early-stage T1-T2 OTSCC and cN0 neck. DATA SOURCES The MEDLINE, Scopus, Google scholar, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for articles published between January 1, 1970, and June 1, 2015. Search terms used were squamous cell carcinoma, oral tongue, mobile tongue, T1, T2, early stage, elective neck dissection, no neck treatment, observation, wait and watch, node-negative neck, and N0 neck. STUDY SELECTION Controlled clinical trials, prospective and retrospective cohorts, case-control studies, and case series that compared END with observation in patients with early-stage T1-T2 OTSCC who had no clinical or radiologic evidence of lymph node metastasis to the neck were eligible for inclusion in this meta-analysis. All patients included had a histopathologic diagnosis of SCC and at least 6 months of follow-up. Regional (neck) nodal recurrence, overall survival (OS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) were tested. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Four researchers independently extracted information on population characteristics, outcomes of interest, and study design. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Fixed effects were used to determine hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratio (ORs) were used for studies including samples without substantial heterogeneity; random effects were evaluated for samples with significant heterogeneity. RESULTS A total of 20 retrospective and 3 prospective randomized studies that met the inclusion criteria, with a total of 3244 patients, were included in the meta-analysis The results showed that END significantly reduced risk of regional recurrence (random-effects model: OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.22-0.46; P < .001) and improved DSS (fixed-effects model: HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.33-0.72; P < .001) compared with management by observation. However, END did not significantly improve OS (random-effects model: HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.41-1.22; P = .21). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that END can significantly reduce the rate of regional nodal recurrence and improve DSS in patients with cT1T2N0 OTSCC.

Elective neck irradiation versus observation in squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus with N0 neck: A meta-analysis and review of the literature

Elective neck irradiation of a clinical node‐negative (N0) neck in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the maxillary sinus is a controversial issue.

Surgical Approaches to Resection of Anterior Skull Base and Paranasal Sinuses Tumors

Malignant tumours of the sinonasal tract comprise approximately 3% of the malignancies that arise in the upper aerodigestive tract. Approximately 10% of tumours that arise in the sinonasal tract originate in the ethmoid and/or frontal sinuses, and are likely to involve the anterior cranial base. The route of spread of tumours originating in the anterior skull base and paranasal sinuses is determined by the complex anatomy of the craniomaxillofacial compartments. These tumours may invade laterally into the orbit and middle fossa, inferiorly into the maxillary antrum and palate, posteriorly into the nasopharynx and pterygopalatine fossa, and superiorly into the cavernous sinus and brain. Recent improvements in endoscopic technology now allow the resection of the majority of benign neoplasms and some early malignant tumours with minor dural involvement. For advanced-stage malignant tumours and benign tumours with frontal bone involvement, the classical open approaches remain viable surgical techniques. In this paper, we review the open surgical resection approaches used for resections in the craniomaxillofacial area.

Intraoperative Frozen Section in "Suspicious for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma" after Adoption of the Bethesda System.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy and utility of intraoperative frozen section examination (iFSE) in patients with a preoperative fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of “suspicious for malignancy” (SFM)–Bethesda V, after the adoption of the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Tertiary medical center. Subjects and Methods All patients with SFM–Bethesda V who underwent thyroid surgery with iFSE between 2010 and 2015 were included. In cases where the iFSE was reported to be malignant, a total thyroidectomy was performed; otherwise, thyroid lobectomy (hemithyroidectomy) was performed. Results The current series included 47 patients diagnosed preoperatively with FNA cytology of SFM–Bethesda V. The malignancy rate was 74.5% (35 of 47). Twenty-four patients with nonmalignant iFSE results underwent lobectomy during their initial surgery: 12 were subsequently found with benign final histology and did not undergo completion thyroidectomy; the other 12 patients had malignant results on final histology, but only 4 of them underwent completion thyroidectomy. iFSE resulted in a sensitivity and specificity of 65.7% and 100%, respectively, with a positive predictive value of 100% (23 of 23) and a negative predictive value of 50% (12 of 24). Accuracy of the iFSE methodology was 74.5% (35 of 47). Conclusions With no significant preoperative clinical or sonographic predictors for thyroid malignancy and given the high specificity of iFSE, our results support the use of iFSE for patients with preoperative FNA cytology of SFM–Bethesda V who are undergoing thyroid surgery, to determine the extent of required surgery.

Impact of preoperative embolization on the outcomes of carotid body tumor surgery: A meta-analysis and review of the literature

There is no consensus on the impact of preoperative embolization (EMB) on the surgical outcomes of carotid body tumor (CBT) resections.

Evaluation of clinical presentation and referral indications for ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the thyroid as possible predictors of thyroid cancer.

Whether initial clinical presentation and thyroid ultrasonography referral indications can significantly predict malignant/suspicious for malignancy (Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology [Bethesda] V/VI) thyroid ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) cytology results is unknown.

A Novel Radiographic Sign and a New Classifying System in Mastoiditis-Related Epidural Abscess.

Objective To describe a novel radiographic sign (“halo”) and a new classification method of an evolving perisigmoid epidural abscess and present its correlation with intraoperative findings. Study Design Retrospective and prospective cohort study in a tertiary academic children’s hospital. Methods The retrospective arm (15 children) was conducted between 1998 and 2007 and the prospective arm (11 children) between 2008 and 2013. The computerized tomographic appearance of the perisigmoid region was classified into four groups: Class I, normal; Class II, smooth halo; Class III, nodular halo 4 mm or less in diameter; and Class IV, gross nodular halo more than 4 mm in diameter. Intraoperative findings of the perisigmoid region were compared with the preoperative scan results. Results The correlation between preoperative imaging and intraoperative findings of the retrospective arm was highly significant (p = 0.007). The correlation between the preoperative imaging studies and intraoperative findings of the prospective arm was also highly significant (p = 0.005). The interobserver agreement for the proposed classification method was high (Cohen kappa score, 0.76; weighted kappa score, 0.84). Conclusion A novel radiographic sign (“halo”) and a new classification method for an evolving perisigmoid epidural abscess in acute mastoiditis are described. A thin and smooth halo sign is not indicative of a true abscess formation. Gross perisigmoid granular changes, however, are highly suggestive of an epidural abscess that warrants surgical intervention.

Nasopharyngeal biopsy in adults presenting with serous otitis media: Cross‐sectional study

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between isolated serous otitis media (SOM) and/or conductive hearing loss (CHL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in a low-to-intermediate endemic area. METHODS Medical records of all adult patients (≥17 years) with SOM/CHL who underwent endoscopic-guided nasopharyngeal biopsy to exclude NPC during a 10-year period were reviewed. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify significant predictors for NPC. RESULTS A total of 195 patients were included (121/195; 62.1% men), among whom 169 (86.7%) presented with isolated SOM/CHL. Overall, 12 patients were diagnosed with NPC (12/195; 6.2%), however, only 1 patient (1/169; 0.6%) had isolated SOM/CHL. Coexisting clinical manifestations and suspicious nasopharyngeal findings on fiber-optic nasopharyngoscopy were found to be significant predictors for NPC on univariate and multivariate analyses (P < .05). CONCLUSION Patients with isolated SOM/CHL and without coexisting clinical manifestations or suspicious findings on nasopharyngoscopy may avoid a routine nasopharyngeal biopsy.

Predictive factors for perioperative blood transfusion in neck dissection

There is growing interest in reducing the exposure of patients to allogeneic blood transfusions by lowering preoperative cross‐matched blood ordering and adopting alternative practices, such as autologous blood donations. Our aim was to investigate the predictors for perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) in head and neck cancer patients undergoing neck dissection (ND).