The art of diagnosis in head and neck tumors.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A M Noyek.
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Laryngeal verrucous carcinoma (LVC) is a rare, well-differentiated variant of squamous carcinoma with a low malignant potential. Human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 DNA has been identified in a small number of LVC and an etiologic relationship has been suggested. A correlative clinical and molecular pathological study was performed in order to determine the prevalence and typing of HPV DNA in LVC. Possible associations between patient and tumor subsets, and the presence of HPV DNA were also investigated. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 29 patients with LVC were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using DNA primers specific for HPV types 6b/11, 16, and 18. Overall, HPV DNA was detected in 13 (45%) of the cases. Of these, HPV-16 DNA, HPV-18 DNA, and both HPV-16 DNA and HPV-18 DNA were detected in 4 (14% overall; 31% of positive cases), 4, and 5 (17% overall; 38% of positive cases), respectively. HPV-6b/11 DNA was not detected in any LVCs. In 16 cases, no HPV DNA was detected. There was a trend toward HPV DNA detection in higher stage tumors. HPV DNA detection was unrelated to patient age, tumor site, or radiotherapeutic responsiveness. The detection of HPV DNA in 45% of LVCs suggests an association between the presence of HPV-16 DNA and HPV-18 DNA, and some LVCs.
A head and neck ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration clinic was set up to determine the role of ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration in the evaluation of patients with lesions in this region. One hundred ninety-five lesions were biopsied by ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration in 203 patients. Ultrasound detected 2 or more lesions in 14 (48%) of 29 patients with a clinically solitary thyroid nodule. Three (8.8%) of 34 lesions thought to be within the parotid gland were determined to be external. A pronounced learning curve was evident in the technique of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration, particularly for nonpalpable disease. Adequacy of sampling for each 3-month period was 71%, 89%, and 94%, respectively. Seventy-four percent of central aspirations were satisfactory compared to 54% of peripheral aspirations. Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration did not alter the clinical staging of metastatic neck disease in 8 patients having 10 neck dissections but proved useful in detecting nodal recurrence in 3 irradiated necks that did not proceed to surgery. The smallest node to harbor malignancy had 4-mm maximal axial diameter. We conclude that ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration are valuable adjuncts to the clinical examination.
The results of palpation, ultrasound, and detailed pathology were compared in 50 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy. Of the 211 nodules recognized by pathology, palpation detected 24% and ultrasound detected 43%. There were 14 patients with palpable papillary carcinomas, and 12 of these 14 had metastatic foci in other portions of the gland. Metastatic foci would have been left in 10 patients if only a lobectomy had been performed and would have been left in 6 patients if only a subtotal thyroidectomy (as defined in this report) had been performed. Of the 33 patients with benign palpable nodules, 5 had occult papillary carcinomas. In 2 of those 5 patients, the occult carcinomas would not have been removed if a less-than-total thyroidectomy had been performed. The significance of these occult and metastatic papillary carcinomas is discussed.
Septic Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis (SIJVT) is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition which necessitates early clinical recognition and rapid administration of appropriate therapy. Although termed by some authors a "forgotten disease" in the antibiotic era, this entity is still present but frequently overlooked. Deep neck infections, Lemierre syndrome, central venous catheterization and mastoiditis are the etiologies in this series. The diagnosis of SIJVT utilized CT and Doppler ultrasound imaging. The treatment included aggressive abscesses, necrotizing fasciitis, mastoiditis). Anti-coagulant agents were used in order to reduce the risks of pulmonary embolism.
We consider that the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses cannot be declared completely normal without a normal CT scan. While CT scans are clearly useful in the evaluation of patients with recurrent sinusitis, it is important to emphasize that they should not be employed exclusively for diagnosis. Nasal endoscopy and clinical evaluation still form the basis for the diagnosis of chronic and recurring sinusitis. The CT technique described should be used only to supplement the clinical data obtained during history-taking and the rhinoscopic/endoscopic examination and is essential before functional endoscopic sinus surgery. The complexity of the diagnostic process is simplified to patient benefit when the radiologist and the otolaryngologist form a functional interactive partnership.
The successful diagnosis and surgical treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism due to parathyroid adenoma benefits significantly, in our experience, from a process of pre-operative imaging localization of the parathyroid adenoma. This prospective study evaluates a window of 25 consecutive patients who underwent pre-operative imaging localization prior to successful unilateral parathyroidectomy for parathyroid adenoma. All parathyroid adenomas were successfully localized by imaging, and subsequently documented photographically in surgical correlation, and pathologically confirmed. All patients were cured biochemically. Ultrasound accurately localized 92% of adenomas (100% in the neck and extrathyroidal) while radionuclide subtraction scanning identified 60% of a smaller subset. Both DSA and CT were successful in the two cases utilized, and MRI demonstrated four of five adenomas. The high yield of these pre-operative localization studies should make them an important consideration in the routine evaluation of patients undergoing surgery for possible parathyroid adenoma. Their usefulness in directing a conservative unilateral operation may result in time and cost savings, as well as reduced surgical exposure.
A case report of a parotid epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) of intercalated ducts is presented. There were no changes in clinical characteristics or growth over a four-year period as documented by repeated clinical examination and serial ultrasounds. This neoplasm may be mistaken for an adenoid cystic carcinoma on fine needle aspiration and is believed to represent an adenocarcinoma of low malignant potential. The imperceptible growth of this epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma is in accord with a low malignant potential.
BACKGROUND: In nasopharyngeal carcinoma the primary lesion is often difficult to find. Metastatic lesions occur frequently but are difficult to distinguish from other head and neck tumors. The viral genome of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can be identified in the cells of this carcinoma. METHODS: We used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for the presence of EBV genomes in 15 samples of metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma of the neck obtained by fine-needle aspiration and in 26 samples obtained by biopsy of lymph nodes. For controls we used disease-free lymph nodes from 10 patients with various head and neck tumors, tonsillar tissue from 46 subjects, blood from 59 EBV-seropositive blood donors, and mononuclear cells from 8 patients with fatal lymphoproliferative lesions. RESULTS: Of the 41 malignant lesions examined, only the nine nasopharyngeal carcinomas (one primary lesion and eight metastases) contained EBV genomes. None of the 20 nodes with other types of cancer, the 10 disease-free nodes, or any of the 105 normal control samples contained detectable EBV. In two patients with suspected metastases from occult primary tumors, the presence of EBV was predictive of nasopharyngeal carcinoma; in both cases overt nasopharyngeal carcinoma developed within one year. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma, fine-needle aspiration can provide tissue for diagnosis by DNA amplification of EBV genomes. The presence of EBV in metastases from an occult primary tumor is predictive of the development of overt nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma primaries in patients presenting with neck node metastases may sometimes demand considerable efforts. By using the 'in situ hybridization' technique, we manage to identify the Epstein-Barr virus in neck metastases secondary to nasopharyngeal carcinomas. We propose that such identification in neck node metastases where the primary lesion is unknown indicates a nasopharyngeal primary.
The prognostic value of nuclear morphometry in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) was investigated in 28 patients. Seven morphometric nuclear variables were measured on 100 randomly selected tumor cells in nasopharyngeal biopsies from 18 patients with NPC confined to the nasopharynx. The same variables were measured in 6 patients with metastatic NPC, as well as in lymph node biopsies from 4 patients with metastatic NPC. Nuclear area, nuclear perimeter, long and short nuclear axes, nuclear form factor, nucleolar area, and the ratio of nucleolar area to nuclear area were all measured. Volume-weighted mean nuclear volume was also obtained. Tumor cells from patients with NPC confined to the nasopharynx had significantly larger mean nuclear areas, perimeters, and volume-weighted mean nuclear volumes but significantly smaller nucleolar to nuclear area ratios than tumor cells from patients with nodal metastases. Assessment of nuclear form factor and diameters did not differentiate the two groups.
A 50-year-old man, presenting with headache, was suspected of having a malignant nasopharyngeal tumor on the basis of his CT results. A CT scan revealed diffuse calcification in a large nasopharyngeal polyp. Xeroradiography of the specimen demonstrated the calcifications to extend centrally along the stroma. The histology and the radiologic features of this choanal polyp, resulting from diffuse central calcification of the stroma, are a unique feature that might mimic malignancy.
In 1986, the authors reported the CT imaging findings which were specific for the diagnosis of schwannoma of the intrasternomastoid portion of the spinal accessory nerve. This successful imaging diagnosis led to appropriate surgical management with preservation of motor nerve function. In this manuscript, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was utilized to correctly diagnose the identical lesion, again with the same satisfactory surgical results. Both the CT and MRI findings are unique and specific, and the purpose of this short manuscript is to identify the MRI findings and link these to the previously recorded CT radiographic signs.
Radionuclide imaging provides both qualitative and quantitative information that can have dramatic effects on patient management in diseases of the head and neck. The general concepts of nuclear medicine imaging, including radiopharmaceuticals and radiation effects, are discussed. The principles and techniques of thyroid, parathyroid, bone, and salivary radionuclide imaging studies will be reviewed. The intent of this article is to provide a concise and current review of head and neck radionuclide imaging that will be useful in the day-to-day practice of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.
While infections of the infratemporal fossa are occasionally documented in the otolaryngologic literature, a recent computer literature search failed to identify any significant series of cases describing this potentially fatal infection. This presentation focuses attention on the joint clinical/imaging experience of 11 cases of infratemporal fossa infection, as seen at the Soroka Medical Center of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, in Beer-Sheva, Israel, and the Mount Sinai Hospital, of the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Canada. This manuscript reviews our experience, with particular emphasis on the effective role and accuracy of CT scanning in identifying the correct anatomic and pathologic diagnosis, as well as in the planning of treatment.
Parotid gland enlargement with or without facial paralysis may be the presenting clinical manifestation of AIDS. Submandibular involvement may occur as well. Failure to recognize this association may lead to inappropriate or unnecessary intervention in the investigation and treatment of the salivary gland enlargement. In this paper, we discuss the role of imaging techniques in the investigation of salivary gland enlargement, and identify the specific radiologic signs found in HIV infection. Demonstration of intraparotid or submandibular gland cysts with focal intraparotid mass lesion(s) on imaging may help to differentiate parotid gland enlargement due to HIV infection from the many other causes of parotid enlargement.
In a previous report CT was shown to have no advantage over physical examination in the detection of metastatic neck disease. Therefore, a study was undertaken to evaluate whether MRI would show superiority to the CT in the diagnosis of neck nodes. A series of 35 patients with various head and neck tumors were evaluated clinically, radiographically and pathologically. Eight patients were excluded from the study because of various problems involving the MRI. Therefore, 27 patients with 30 neck dissections were analyzed. There was little advantage of MRI over clinical examination in the detection of metastatic neck disease. The present size criterion for the diagnosis of occult malignant nodes is not reliable. The soft tissue contrast resolution reported by MRI is inadequate to detect minimal morphological changes in lymph nodes involved by metastases, and MRI is difficult in patients who have airway or foodway obstruction.