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Are there benefits of prophylactic swallowing exercises for patients with head and neck cancer?
This randomised controlled trial aimed to establish the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The primary outcome was the functional oral intake scale (FOIS), although secondary measures for feeding tube use,...
Prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer
The authors propose that high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with poor disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with human papillomavirus positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). This is a retrospective study that compared the outcomes of 43 patients treated for HPV+...
Preoperative imaging for thyroid cancer according to 2015 ATA guidelines
The 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) management guidelines for adult patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer suggest that thyroid sonography with survey of the cervical lymph nodes should be performed in all patients with known or suspected thyroid...
Pre-habilitation in head and neck cancer – a literature review to guide best practice
Curative treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC) often requires surgery; however, outcomes are impacted by the complexity of the surgery and the patient population. Increasingly ‘Enhanced Recovery After Surgery’ (ERAS) protocols are being used to maximise patient outcomes and...
Best timing for post-treatment PET-CT scans in head and neck cancer
Unfortunately we know that the recurrence rate for head and neck cancer can be high, up to 30-50% in some series. These recurrences tend to occur within the first two years following treatment. Optimal surveillance strategies to detect recurrences early...
What is the right balance to strike in the management of anaplastic thyroid cancer?
This is a pragmatic article on a difficult and much debated subject. Management of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) can feel like making decisions between a rock and a hard place, and this article suggests one path to help navigate some...Coronavirus: leading surgeon calls for 'Covid-free hubs' to treat cancer patients
Professor Michael Griffin said cancer surgeons are facing 'an impossibly difficult question' of whether to operate amid the coronavirus outbreak. CLICK HERE
Role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in managing papillary thyroid cancer
Although studies have shown that the presence of lymph nodes metastases in papillary thyroid carcinoma does not alter survival, other studies have shown that it increases morbidity and mortality and that the presence of cervical lymph node metastasis at diagnosis...
Effect of swallowing exercises following free flap for oral cancer reconstruction
This paper from Beijing looked at 68 patients, 34 in a control group and 34 in an intervention group. Oral exercise training was performed by a specialist swallowing nurse in the intervention group. They found that personalised oral exercises had...
Predicting swallowing outcomes post radiotherapy for head and neck cancer
A videofluroscopic swallow study (VFSS), also known as modified barium swallow (MBS) offers a dynamic view of swallow biomechanics and associated swallowing physiology. The authors of this paper investigated whether quantitative timing and displacement measures of key structures involved in...
Are elective facelifts a good idea after head and neck cancer radiotherapy?
The aim of this study was to assess the safety of elective cervicofacial rhytidectomy following radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). A greater proportion of HNSCC patients are infected with certain strains of the human papillomavirus, which...
