OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the determinants of surgery choice in Asian patients with early breast cancer in a middle-income country.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 184 patients with early breast cancer treated between Jan 2008 and Dec 2010 were recruited to complete a questionnaire. Chi-square test was used to analyze the association between surgery choice and demographic and tumour factors, surgeon recommendation, family member and partner opinions, fear of recurrence, avoidance of second surgery, fear of disfigurement, interference with sex life, fear of radiation and loss of femininity.
RESULTS: 85 (46%) had BCS while 99 (54%) had mastectomy. Age >60, Chinese ethnicity, lower education level, and larger tumour size were significantly associated with mastectomy. Surgeon recommendation was important in surgery choice. Although both groups did not place much importance on interference with sex life, 14.1% of the BCS group felt it was very important compared to 5.1% in the mastectomy group and this was statistically significant. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of the other factors. When analyzed by ethnicity, significantly more Malay and Indian women considered partner and family member opinions very important and were more concerned about loss of femininity compared to Chinese women. There were no statistical differences between the three ethnic groups in terms of the other factors.
CONCLUSIONS: When counseling on surgical options, the surgeon has to take into account the ethnicity, social background and education level, age and reliance on partner and family members. Decision-making is usually a collective effort rather than just between the patient and surgeon, and involving the whole family into the process early is important.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single dose of 30 Gy of linear electron beam radiation was applied to the hind limb of nude mice before creating the skin lesion (area of 78.6 mm). Monolayer tissue-engineered skin substitutes (MTESSs) were prepared by entrapping cultured keratinocytes in fibrin matrix, and bilayer tissue-engineered skin substitutes (BTESSs) were prepared by entrapping keratinocytes and fibroblasts in separate layers. Bilayer tissue-engineered skin substitute and MTESS were implanted to the wound area. Gross appearance and wound area were analyzed to evaluate wound healing efficiency. Skin regeneration and morphological appearance were observed via histological and electron microscopy. Protein expressions of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in skin regeneration were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC).
RESULTS: Macroscopic observation revealed that at day 13, treatments with BTESS completely healed the irradiated wound, whereas wound sizes of 1.1 ± 0.05 and 6.8 ± 0.14 mm were measured in the MTESS-treated and untreated control groups, respectively. Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) analysis showed formation of compact and organized epidermal and dermal layers in the BTESS-treated group, as compared with MTESS-treated and untreated control groups. Ultrastructural analysis indicates maturation of skin in BTESS-treated wound evidenced by formation of intermediate filament bundles in the dermal layer and low intercellular space in the epidermal layer. Expressions of TGF-β1, PDGF-BB, and VEGF were also higher in BTESS-treated wounds, compared with MTESS-treated wounds.
CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that BTESS is the preferred treatment for irradiated wound ulcers.
METHODS: A 56-year-old female presented with a 3-month history of blood-stained nasal discharge. She had been treated with radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma 25 years earlier. Flexible nasal endoscopy demonstrated an exposed bone with an edematous posterior nasopharyngeal mass. Computed tomography showed a pre-vertebral mass with destruction of C1 and C2. She underwent occipito-cervical fusion followed by a combined transnasal and transoral endoscopic debridement of non-viable bone in the same perioperative setting. Healing of the raw mucosa was by secondary intention and reconstruction was not performed.
RESULTS: Histopathological examination reported ulcerated inflamed granulation tissue with no evidence of malignancy. During follow-up, she remained neurologically intact with no recurrence.
CONCLUSION: Using both nasal and oral spaces allows placement of the endoscope in the nasal cavity and surgical instruments in the oral cavity without splitting the palate. Hence, the endoscopic transnasal and transoral approach has vast potential to be effective in carefully selected cases of cervical ORN.
METHODS: PubMed and Scopus databases were searched based on PRISMA guideline to determine studies focusing on changes following NPC RT.
RESULTS: Eleven studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Microstructural changes occur most consistently in the temporal region. The changes were correlated with latency in seven studies; fractional anisotropy (FA) and gray matter (GM) volume remained low even after a longer period following RT and areas beyond irradiation site with reduced FA and GM measures. For dosage, only one study showed correlation, thus requiring further investigations.
CONCLUSION: DTI, DKI and VBM may be used as a surveillance tool in detecting brain microstructural changes of NPC patients which correlates to latency and brain areas following RT.
METHOD: This interventional cohort pilot study on patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction compared those with nasopharyngeal carcinoma to patients without. Outcome assessment was based on tympanometry type and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire score.
RESULTS: A total of 14 ears (12 patients) were tested. Only 14 per cent of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cohort showed improvement, while 71 per cent of the non-nasopharyngeal carcinoma group were successfully treated. No significant adverse effect was reported in any patient during this study.
CONCLUSION: Balloon Eustachian tube dilatation was not shown to be beneficial for post-radiotherapy Eustachian tube dysfunction in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients in the preliminary stages of this pilot study.