Use of technetium-99m-MAG3 for renal scintigraphy after angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition.

Technetium-99m-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (99mTc-MAG3) was tested in 82 hypertensive patients submitted to renal scintigraphy 1 hr after oral premedication with 50 mg of Captopril. Baseline studies were obtained only for those patients showing abnormal findings in the provocative study. All patients underwent renal arteriography. Sensitivity and specificity for the detection of renal artery stenosis (RAS) greater than 50% were 89% and 91%, respectively. After Captopril administration, tracer parenchymal transit time increased significantly in ischemic kidneys (334 +/- 93 sec in baseline conditions versus 468 +/- 96 sec after Captopril, p less than 0.001) but not in kidneys with no RAS or RAS less than 50% (243 +/- 46 sec versus 271 +/- 95 sec, p = ns). False-positive responses were mostly bilateral and associated with a marked decrease in blood pressure. Technetium-99m-MAG3 is an effective compound for detecting RAS greater than or equal to 50% with Captopril renal scintigraphy. Performing the provocative test as a first step considerably reduced the number of scintigraphic studies required.

Evaluation of hypertensive patients by means of captopril enhanced renal scintigraphy with technetium-99m DTPA.

One-hundred five hypertensive patients underwent conventional renal scintigraphy followed 2 or 3 days later by Captopril-enhanced renal scintigraphy, performed 1 hr after premedication with 50 mg of Captopril per os. All patients were then submitted to renal arteriography, performed within 15-30 days. Fifty-five patients had no renal artery stenosis, 29 had unilateral disease, and 21 bilateral. Overall, 34/37 patients were diagnosed by the provocative test as having at least one renal artery affected by a stenosis greater than 50%. Of those with no stenosis (n = 55) or stenosis less than 50% (n = 13) only two cases were falsely positive. Thus sensitivity was 92% and specificity 97%. For single kidney identification with stenosis greater than 50%, sensitivity of renal scintigraphy after Captopril administration was 94% and specificity 98%. Captopril enhanced renal scintigraphy is thus suggested as the first test to be performed in hypertensive patients referred for renal scintigraphic studies. Only those cases with equivocal results require a baseline study for better assessment.

The diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma during the postoperative period after less than total thyroidectomy.

In clinical practice, small or localized thyroid cancer is often missed at the time of surgery and is diagnosed only later after the pathologist has been able to study multiple sections. Our data suggest that patients with early or localized thyroid cancer can be controlled with less than total thyroidectomy. If the nodule is completely excised without fracture (preferably lobectomy) or not cut into, if there is no evidence of metastatic disease either by palpation or frozen section, and if gross examination of the surgical specimen and frozen sections is negative for carcinoma, it is our policy to place these individuals on a regimen of observation only. Additional surgery is performed only if clinical evidence of recurrent cancer develops. Long-term follow-up of forty-four patients supports this treatment policy. Of these, seven had clinical recurrences: three benign; four (9 per cent) malignant. (The 2 patients with metastatic periglandular lymph nodes in the surgical specimen would not meet our present criteria.) We have in our files several additional patients who seem to support the same conclusions but will be reported on only after longer follow-up.

Preoperative irradiation for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Does it improve five year survival or control figures?

1. A well defined group of patients have been studied. 2. Composite operation resulted in a 56 per cent five year disease-free survival rate. 3. Treatment of recurrent disease with irradiation increased the five year survival to 61 per cent. 4. Preoperative irradiation for squamous cell carcinoma of the intraoral cavity, stage III, is unwarranted unless this treatment plan can produce five year end results better than 61 per cent.

Management of "localized" oral cancer.

We have outlined the clinical manifestations of "localized" malignant lesions of the intraoral cavity, their clinical behavior after intraoral excision, and their control rate employing intraoral excision as primary therapy. We must keep in mind that these small "localized" cancers are potential "killers" and the five year mortality from disease in our series was 25 per cent. This mortality may decrease with (1) more careful selection when patients are included in the "localized" lesion group and (2) earlier use of composite procedures in questionable cases.

Epstein-Barr Virus antibodies in patients with carcinoma of the nasopharynx and carcinoma of other sites in the head and neck.

Serum antibody titers to Epstein-Barr virus were significantly elevated in a group of twenty-three patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma as compared with eighty-six patients with cancer of other sites in the head and neck and 222 age-matched controls. Our findings in this group of patients support the suggestion of an association between the Epstein-Barr virus and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Modified radical neck dissection for metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid. A reappraisal.

From January 1958 through December 1983, 56 modified radical neck dissections were performed on 47 patients with metastases to the cervical nodes from differentiated carcinomas of the thyroid. In nine patients, a second modified radical neck dissection was performed either simultaneously or at a later date. Lymph node clearance was performed on all but one surgical specimen. The number of nodes in each specimen ranged from 10 to 96, and the number of involved nodes ranged from 1 to 20. Thirty-eight of the 56 neck specimens contained four or more positive nodes. Seventeen patients were followed for 10 to 26 years, 18 patients for 5 to 9 years, and 5 patients for less than 5 years. Seven other patients died, three from other causes and four from lung metastases. There were no recurrences in the neck sides that would have been cleared if standard radical neck dissection had been performed. This reappraisal with long-term follow-up supports our initial impression that a modified radical neck dissection sparing the spinal accessory nerve, the sternocleidomastoid muscle, the internal jugular vein, or any combination thereof is an effective procedure for differentiated cancer of the thyroid, with preservation of good shoulder function and improvement in the cosmetic appearance of the neck.

Function and appearance following surgery for intraoral cancer.

Operations for intraoral carcinoma do produce deformities and loss of function. Historically, surgeons have constantly tried to correct or improve these deficiencies. The tendency on the part of the surgeon is to replace each bit of tissue removed, hoping that if the site appears normal the patient will be normal. The appearance of the patient has as a rule been given more attention than the functional result. Dysfunction is related to the alteration of certain anatomic and physiologic conditions identified as: (1) inability to obliterate the anterior oral cavity, (2) defects in the palate, (3) inability to close off the oropharyngeal space, and (4) disturbance of normal channels to bypass the larynx. Lateral mandibulectomy and radical neck dissection performed for cancer of the retromolar area, lower gum, lateral tongue, or floor of the mouth will in most instances result in very acceptable cosmetic and functional results. These patients look well, speak well, eat and swallow well, and can assume their usual role in society. Further surgical attempts to improve any deficiencies are discouraged. Patients sometimes ask about bone grafting or devices to replace the resected mandible and our recommendations are very emphatic on the negative side.