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Biomedical subjects

F P Gerold

Publications and source records attributed to F P Gerold.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and jejunostomy for long-term feeding in patients with cancer of the head and neck.

Enteral feeding is often required in patients with cancer of the head and neck. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomies (PEGs) and jejunostomies (PEJs) can facilitate enteral feeding in patients who require this treatment. The endoscopic technique allows for the placement of feeding gastrostomies and jejunostomies without a surgical procedure and eliminates the need for nasal tubes for long-term enteral feeding. Forty-two patients with head and neck tumors were referred for placement of PEGs because of severe dysphagia induced by tumors, surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. The procedure was performed in the gastroenterology suite. Patients were sedated with intravenous meperidine and diazepam, and local anesthetic with lidocaine was applied to the area of incision. Average procedure time was approximately 20 minutes. The procedure was successful in 39 patients in whom tubes were placed ranging in diameter from 15F to 22F. PEGs were placed in 36 patients with intact stomachs and PEJs in three patients with previous gastrectomies. The remaining three procedures were unsuccessful because of technical reasons. There were three localized skin infections, and all responded to antibiotic therapy. Neither peritonitis nor any other immediate complication occurred. In 16 nonhospitalized patients, the procedure was performed on an outpatient basis. After a mean followup of 4.5 +/- 6 months of enteral feeding in the home, there was only one case of aspiration and subsequent pneumonia, and this case responded to antibiotics. No other long-term complications were noted. Thus feeding gastrostomies and jejunostomies can be placed safely and easily in patients with cancers of the head and neck by endoscopic methods without abdominal surgery. These tubes can be used for enteral feeding and eliminate the need for nasogastric tubes. They are better tolerated, are of a wider diameter, and have a reduced risk for migration, clogging, and aspiration-related complications.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

Analysis of prognostic variables and results after vertical partial laryngectomy.

A consecutive series of 197 patients who underwent conservation surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the glottic larynx was analyzed. The majority of patients were male. One hundred forty-one had stage I disease, 44 had stage II, and 12 had stage III disease at the time of treatment. Partial laryngectomy was performed in 25 patients who had recurrent cancer after previous definitive radiotherapy and in 5 patients who had previously undergone cordectomy. There was no operative mortality and postoperative morbidity was low. Local recurrence developed in 32 patients (17 percent); cervical metastasis developed in 8 patients. The determinate survival rates at 3 and 5 years were 92 percent and 87 percent, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed soft-tissue margins and tumor differentiation as the two significant covariates in predicting survival. Positive surgical margins were also significant covariates affecting local recurrence. These data suggest that conservation surgery is an effective treatment for early vocal cord carcinoma. Adequate surgical margins are essential. Postoperative irradiation should be considered in patients with inadequate margins.

Adult↗

Analysis of prognostic variables and results after supraglottic partial laryngectomy.

A consecutive series of 78 patients who underwent conservation surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx is analyzed. The majority of the patients were middle-aged men who had early-stage disease, with only 18 patients in stage III and 6 in stage IV. The epiglottis was the most frequent site, followed by the aryepiglottic fold and other sites in the supraglottic larynx. There was no operative mortality and the complication rate was low. Univariate analysis showed no influence of tumor stage, tumor differentiation, or involved surgical margins on survival. Determinate survival rates of 85 percent at 3 years and 72 percent at 5 years were observed. Local recurrences took place in 12 patients, 4 of whom were salvaged by total laryngectomy; neck failure occurred in 13 patients, 7 of whom were salvaged after further treatment; and 1 of the 2 patients with distant metastasis was salvaged after further treatment. We believe that every patient with a favorable lesion of the supraglottic larynx should be considered for conservation surgery, specifically, supraglottic partial laryngectomy, adhering to the criteria mentioned. Initial surgical treatment offers excellent local control and 5 year survival. Adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy may be considered in those patients with bulky primary tumors, positive surgical margins, and histologically confirmed cervical lymph node metastases.

Adolescent↗

New strategies for avoiding total laryngectomy in patients with head and neck cancer.

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has yielded high response rates in patients with head and neck cancer but has failed to improve the survival rates in randomized studies. Thus, its place in the management of head and neck cancer remains unclear. We have been investigating whether the combination of chemotherapy and radical irradiation as an alternative to morbid surgery in selected patients might yield an improved quality of life without compromising survival. Between January 1983 and December 1985, we treated 32 patients with epidermoid carcinoma arising from the larynx, base of the tongue, or hypopharynx, using an interdisciplinary regimen, with the objective of avoiding total laryngectomy. All of these patients had large primary tumors that could not have been removed without total laryngectomy. Patients who could be treated by conservation laryngeal surgery were excluded, as were patients who presented with clearly unresectable disease. The regimen employed cisplatin-based chemotherapy together with brachytherapy and external radiation therapy, with highly individualized treatment planning. Seven patients had T2 lesions, 19 had T3, and 6 had T4. The follow-up periods ranged from 8 to 38 months (median, 18). The actuarial survival rate at 2 years is 85%, and the laryngectomy-free rate at 2 years is also 85%. None of the 11 patients with laryngeal cancer has relapsed, and none has required laryngectomy. None of the 12 patients with base of the tongue cancer treated by brachytherapy has relapsed above the clavicles and none has required laryngectomy, but 1 patient has died of complications of treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

A pilot study of cisplatin-vinblastine as the initial treatment of advanced head and neck cancer.

Twenty patients with Stage IV and five patients with Stage III carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with the combination of cisplatin and vinblastine before locoregional therapy. Among 24 patients evaluable for response after chemotherapy, there were four complete responders and 16 partial responders for an overall major response rate of 83%. No complete responses were observed in patients with T4 primary lesions or N3a nodal disease. Toxicity was limited primarily to nausea and vomiting (76%) and myelosuppression (72%). Four patients, all treated at the higher vinblastine dose, required hospitalization for fever associated with neutropenia. Two patients had a transient increase in the serum creatinine clearance to greater than 3 mg/dl. The combination of high-dose cisplatin and frequent vinblastine has significant activity in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, has mild and reversible toxicity, and does not require prolonged hospitalizations for continuous intravenous infusions.

Adult↗

Mandibulotomy approach to oropharyngeal tumors.

We have reviewed our experience with 120 selected patients who had pharyngeal tumors resected through a median mandibulotomy approach with paralingual extension (mandibular swing). Clinical findings, technique, and complications are discussed. Results were gratifying in terms of salvage, patient appearance, and function. We believe that this surgical approach, in combination with postoperative radiotherapy when appropriate, offers an attractive alternative to high dose radiotherapy alone in patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the larynx. A study of two types, one of which mimics thyroid medullary carcinoma.

We studied 13 neuroendocrine carcinomas of the larynx. They constituted 59% of the 22 nonepidermoid carcinomas of the larynx seen at Memorial Hospital during a 45-year period, and for which adequate material was available for review. Four tumors were histologically identical to small cell carcinomas of the lung and were classified as small cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (SCNC). One case represents one of the original descriptions of the laryngeal SCNC. No SCNC was argyrophil, and of the three studied immunohistochemically, all contained neuron-specific enolase, one carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and one serotonin. Nine tumors were large cell carcinomas (LCNC). Eight LCNC were argyrophil, and all nine contained neuron-specific enolase, six calcitonin, four CEA, one HCG, two serotonin, and two somatostatin. The laryngeal neuroendocrine carcinomas commonly presented in chronic cigarette smokers with mean ages of 63 (SCNC) and 60 (LCNC), were not associated with other endocrine tumors, and proved highly fatal in spite of radical surgery and radiation therapy. At last follow-up only one patient was alive (after 13 months). Patients dying with SCNC survived a mean of 11 months, and those with LCNC, 36 months. To determine whether the laryngeal LCNC most closely resembles pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, head and neck paragangliomas, or thyroid medullary carcinoma (TMC), they were histologically, histochemically, and immunohistochemically compared with control cases of each group. Overall, LCNC most closely resembles TMC, and given the frequency with which each presents as a neck mass, misinterpretation of one for the other is very possible. Evidence is provided suggesting that some LCNC have also been mistaken for the laryngeal paraganglioma.

Aged↗

Gastric transposition in head and neck surgery. Indications, complications, and expectations.

From 1973 through 1982 a total of 63 of our patients had their upper alimentary tracts reconstructed after major ablative neck operations by transposition of the mobilized stomach into the neck through the bed of the resected esophagus. This gastric pull-up procedure was performed without thoracotomy using two surgical teams for resection of locally extensive primary tumors arising in the hypopharynx, cervical esophagus, and thyroid gland. Morbidity and mortality were significant but acceptable. Relatively few patients were cured, but excellent palliation was often achieved. In our experience, use of the transposed stomach for restoration of alimentary continuity after cervical esophagectomy or circumferential pharyngectomy offered greater reliability and versatility than other available methods.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Chemotherapy of head and neck cancer: combination treatment with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate, and bleomycin.

A combination of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate, and bleomycin (CAMB) was explored in patients with advanced, nonresectable epidermoid carcinoma from primary sites in the head and neck, recurrent or persistent after radiation or surgery. Objective regression (greater than 50%) of measurable tumor was present in 35% of the patients. The median duration of response was 2.5 months. Median survival of responders was slightly less than the nonresponders, but the difference was not significant. Drug-related morbidity was substantial; leukopenia, mucositis, and weight loss were the most frequent major side effects. Three deaths were attributable to the regimen. The results seem comparable to those one might expect from methotrexate alone.

Adult↗

Mandibular "swing" approach for oral and oropharyngeal tumors.

This study reviews the history, indications, and operative technique for median mandibulotomy with paralingual extension (mandibular "swing"). A 21-year experience is presented, during which this operative approach was used in 49 patients with tongue cancer and 16 others with oropharyngeal lesions. Mandibular "swing" appears to offer more versatility and fewer problems than either median labiomandibular glossotomy or lateral mandibulotomy. Good local control can be anticipated in properly selected patients because the tumor exposure is comparable to that achieved in operations involving jaw resection.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Head and neck cancer in the elderly.

One hundred fifty-nine patients, 80 years of age or older, with cancer of the head and neck were reviewed. Patients tolerated head and neck resection well and an absolute survival of 36 months for all treated patients and 41 months for all surgically treated patients suggests the efforts are worthwhile. Treatment offered the elimination of uncontrolled cancer in 68% of the patients. Prompt and adequate treatment reduces time, effort, cost, and the actual suffering of the patients. There is little justification for therapeutic nihilism even in the elderly patient.

Aged↗

CIS-Dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) in the treatment of epidermoid carcinoma of the head and neck.

Twenty-six patients with far-advanced epidermoid carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) (DDP) in high doses, utilizing the technique of concurrent mannitol-induced diuresis. All 26 patients had received prior radical radiotherapy to local disease, 14 had had major ablative surgical procedures, and all but five had been previously treated with chemotherapy. Responses were as follows (duration in months): two complete (2+, 6+), six partial (1, 2, 3, 4, 5+, 8+), ten minor (all but one less than 1.5), and eight no change or progression. Responses were seen in primary tumors, neck nodes, and pulmonary metastases. Nausea and vomiting were seen consistently in all patients but were never dose-limiting. Myelosuppression was mild, with only three patients developing platelet counts less than 50,000/mm3 and no patient with a wbc count less than 2000/mm3. Transient elevations of serum creatinine were common but no patient developed peak levels greater than 2 mg/dl. Transient tinnitus was also common although only four patients developed clinically significant hearing loss during the trial and DDP could be definitely implicated in only one instance. DDP in this dose and schedule is thus effective and safe therapy in a very heavily pretreated group of patients with advanced head and neck cancer and is now being used in combination with other agents in the initial treatment of these patients.

Aged↗