Looking Beyond Tobacco and Alcohol: The Role of Lifestyle and Other Environmental Risk Factors for Laryngeal Cancer

Laryngeal cancer incidence in São Paulo, Brazil, is one of the highest in the world. OBJECTIVE: This hospitalbasedcase-control study was designed to investigate exposure-disease relationship between larynx cancer andsmoking and drinking history, diet, occupational exposures and other characteristics. MATERIAL ANDMETHODS: The study was conducted in 3 metropolitan areas in Brazil: São Paulo (South-east), Curitiba (South)and Goiânia (Central-west). We have analyzed information on demographics, occupational history, environmental exposures, tobacco smoking and alcoholdrinking habits obtained from interviews with 194 cases and 804 controls (non-cancer inpatients) matched on 5-year age group, gender, hospital catchments area, and trimester of admission. RESULTS: Tobacco and alcohol consumption were the most important factors for prediction of laryngeal cancer. Other important riskfactors were indoor exposure to wood stove fumes (RR=2.6), woodworking (RR=1.9), family history of cancer(RR=2.1), and high consumption of coffee and “chimarrão”(a kind of maté tea ). There was a protective effect for the consumption of citric fruits and forcarotene-rich vegetables. CONCLUSION: regionally specific lifestyle (“chimarrão”, high consumption of woodworking, and family history of cancer may be responsible for a substantial proportion of incidentlaryngeal cancer cases.

Cisto de paratireóide: aspectos diagnósticos e tratamento / Parathyroid cysts: diagnosis and treatment

Os cistos de paratireóide são lesões raras. Ocorrem, em sua maioria, na região cervical, apenas cerca de 10 por cento no mediastino, com predomínio no sexo feminino. São freqüentemente assintomáticos. A maioria dos cistos é não-funcionante, enquanto que os funcionantes estão associados ao hiperparatireoidismo. Sua importância reside na dificuldade no diagnóstico, muitas vezes confundido com patologia tireoideana, sendo realizado geralmente no intra-operatório, confirmado pelo exame histopatológico. A visualização de líquido aquoso, fluido no interior do cisto e altos níveis de PTH são diagnósticos.

Paradigma da disseminação local do carcinoma epidermóide da base de língua / Paradigm of local spreading in squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue

OBJETIVO: Analisar o padrão de disseminação local através da delimitação clínica da extensão da lesão primária assim como os subsítios invadidos. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Clínico retrospectivo. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram analisados os prontuários de 290 pacientes com carcinoma epidermóide de base de língua no Departamento de Cirurgia de Cabeça e Pescoço e Otorrinolaringologia do Hospital Heliópolis, Hosphel, São Paulo - Brasil, de 1977 a 2000, sendo estadiados pelo TNM da UICC, e os resultados analisados pelo teste do Quiquadrado para tabelas Z x N (Cochran) para estudo da associação dos sítios e dimensão da neoplasia em relação à invasão da linha média. RESULTADOS: Com predomínio dos homens (8:1) e da 6ª década de vida (41,0 por cento), 83,8 por cento eram etilistas e tabagistas e em 4,7 por cento os hábitos estavam ausentes. Quanto aos sintomas, odinofagia (37,6 por cento), linfonodo (21,7 por cento) e a média de tempo entre o 1º sintoma e o diagnóstico de 6 meses (62,0 por cento). Quanto ao estadiamento, tivemos T1-T2 (18,3 por cento), T3 (32,4 por cento), T4(50,7 por cento). Quanto à disseminação local, em direção à valécula (25,3 por cento), epiglote (18,7 por cento), glote (2,7 por cento), anteriormente para o v lingual em (22,4 por cento) e póstero lateralmente para a prega faringloepiglótica (6,6 por cento) e seio piriforme (2,2 por cento). Quanto a ultrapassagem da linha média, isso ocorreu em 66,2 por cento dos casos, sendo 42,2 por cento (T2), 54,2 por cento (T3) e 82,9 por cento (T4). CONCLUSÃO: o carcinoma epidermóide no estádio T4 ultrapassa a linha média da base da língua em 82,9 por cento.

Paraganglioma carotídeo bilateral / Bilateral carotid body paraganglioma

Os paragangliomas do corpo carotídeo são lesões incomuns, embora representem a maioria dos paragangliomas da cabeça e pescoço. A presença de lesão bilateral é rara. Os autores apresentam um caso de paraganglioma bilateral, dando ênfase aos aspectos clínicos, diagnósticos e tratamento.

Angiofibroma nasofaríngeo: revisão de literatura / Nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: review of literature

O angiofibroma de nasofaringe é um tumor benigno, raro, altamente vascularizado, com elevado índice de recorrência e invasividade local, cuja natureza sempre desafiou os estudiosos do assunto. As controvérsias väo desde o seu local de origem, até modalidades terapêuticas, passando por aspectos clínicos e diagnósticos. A característica mais grave e desconcertante, no entanto, é a ocorrência de surtos hemorrágicos, por vezes muito intensos, podendo levar o paciente à morte. Frente a esse fato, muitos foram os esforços desenvolvidos no sentido de minimizar esse problema, visando o controle adequado da doença. Esse estudo apresenta uma revisäo global sobre o tema e se propöe a expor de forma simples e didática os principais aspectos relacionados ao angiofibroma nasofaríngeo

Predictive factors for diagnosis of advanced-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the predictive factors (with emphasis on diagnostic delay) associated with the diagnosis of an advanced-clinical stage head and neck cancer. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of patients with head and neck cancer originally recruited for a case-control study. SETTING: Three referral oncological centers in metropolitan areas in southern Brazil: São Paulo, Curitiba, and Goiânia. PATIENTS: The study population comprised 679 patients recently diagnosed as having a previously untreated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Diagnosis of advanced disease (clinical stage III-IV) head and neck cancer. RESULTS: Patients with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers were more likely to be diagnosed as having advanced disease than those with lip, oral, and oropharyngeal cancers (88.0% vs 74.6%) (P<.001). Patient delay was inversely associated with clinical stage at diagnosis in patients with the same cancers, while professional delay was directly associated with a higher risk of advanced clinical stage at diagnosis (P =.001 and P =.006, respectively). In the analysis of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer, both patient and professional delays were associated with advanced disease, with patient delay being a stronger predictive factor than professional delay. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical stage at diagnosis was associated with sociodemographic characteristics, patient delay, and professional delay. Our results indicate that continued educational programs for the population and health care professionals regarding the identification of early symptoms of head and neck cancers are warranted.

Risk factors for oral cancer in Brazil: a case-control study

A case-control study of risk factors for carcinomas of the tongue, gum, floor, and other specified parts of the mouth was conduced in three metropolitan areas in Brazil; Säo Paulo (Southeast), Curitiba (South), and Goiânia (Central-West). We analyzed information on demographics, occupational history, environmental exposures, tabacco smoking and alcohol drinking habits, diet, oral and other health characteristics obtained from interviews with 232 cases and 464 hospital non-cancer controls matched on 5-year age group, sex hospital catchment area, and trimester of admission. Tobacco and alcohol consuption were the strongest risk factors irrespective of the anatomical site. The adjusted relative risks (RR) for ever vs. never smokers were: 6.3, 13.9, and 7.00, for industrial-brand cigarrettes, pipe and hand-rolled cigarrettes, respectively. A strong correlation was seen between number of pack-years and risk. The RR for the heaviest vs. the lowest consumption categories (>100 vs. <1 pack-years) was 14.8 Risk levels generally decreased to that of never smokers after 10 years since smoking cessation. The risk associated with alcohol was mostly evident for wine (cancer of the tongue) and "cachaça" (all sites), a hard liquor distilled from sugar cane. Other important risk factors were "chimarräo" drinking (a type of mate), use of a wood stove for cooking, and frequent consumption of charcoal-grilled meat and manioc. Oral hygiene chacarcteristics represented correlates of disease risk