Ossification patterns of the atlas vertebra.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to characterize ossification patterns of the C1 (atlas) vertebra in children, to better differentiate normal variants from traumatic injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of all sinus and temporal bone CT examinations was performed for the period of 2002-2009. Patients 96 months old or younger for whom C1 level was at least partially imaged were included. Patients with a history of trauma or genetic disorder-associated spinal abnormalities were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 1270 CT examinations were reviewed. The anterior arch of C1 was completely imaged in 841 patients (66%), and the posterior arch was completely imaged in 378 patients (30%). Multiple anterior arch ossification centers were observed in 179 of 841 patients (21%), and posterior arch variants were present in nine of 378 patients (2%). At least partial ossification of the anterior arch was seen in 113 of 147 children (77%) younger than 25 months, whereas only 14 of the remaining 694 children (2%) older than 24 months failed to show any ossification. Incomplete ossification of the anterior arch was noted in 47 of 103 patients (46%) in the 85-96-month-old category. The posterior arches were at least partially ossified in all children. Incomplete fusion of the posterior synchondrosis was seen in 17 of 108 patients (16%) older than 60 months. CONCLUSION: C1 ossification patterns and timing of synchondrosis fusion are variable. Knowledge of these patterns is important to better differentiate a normal variant from traumatic injury.

Occult injury of the pediatric craniocervical junction.

The objective of this study is to review the occurrence of occult craniocervical junction injury in children. All patients <18 years of age with negative CT of the craniocervical junction and subsequent MRI between July 2003 and June 2008 were included. Age, gender, mechanism of injury, and presence of injuries below C2 were tabulated. Of the forty-five patients with negative CT of the craniocervical junction, 30 had positive MRI findings at the craniocervical junction. Seventeen of the 30 patients fulfilled criteria for significant craniocervical junction injury by MRI. Eleven of 17 patients with significant craniocervical junction injury were less than 8 years old and 13 of 17 were involved in motor vehicle accidents. Six of 12 patients with injury below C2 had significant craniocervical injury. Pediatric craniocervical injuries are often not evident on radiographic or CT imaging but present on MR imaging. Craniocervical injury is most common in younger age groups and is associated with motor vehicle accidents and injuries of the lower cervical spine.

Phase II trial to evaluate gemcitabine and etoposide for locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Prior studies suggest that tumor cell lines harboring RAS mutations display remarkable sensitivity to gemcitabine and etoposide. In a phase II clinical trial of patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, we evaluated the response rate to a combination of these drugs. Forty chemo-naïve patients with nonresectable and histologically confirmed pancreatic cancer were accrued. Patients received gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) (days 1 and 8) and etoposide 80 mg/m(2) (days 8, 9, and 10; 21-day cycle). The primary end point was radiological response rate. Secondary objectives were determination of overall survival, response duration (time to progression), quality of life, toxicity, and CA 19-9 biomarker response. In 35 evaluable patients, 10 exhibited a radiological partial response and 12 had stable disease in response to treatment. Twenty patients exhibited a >20% decrease in CA 19-9 biomarker levels. Median overall survival was 6.7 months for all patients (40) and 7.2 months for evaluable patients (35). Notably, four patients survived for longer than 1 year, with two patients surviving for more than 2 years. Median time to progression for evaluable patients was 3.1 months. The median overall survival for locally advanced patients was 8.8 months and 6.75 months for metastatic patients. One-year survival was 10% for all patients and 11.4% for evaluable patients. Quality of life improved in 12 patients and remained stable in 3 of the evaluable patients. The primary dose-limiting toxicities were hematologic toxicity and fatigue. These results show that the gemcitabine and etoposide combination is generally well-tolerated and exhibits a response rate similar to other published studies.