The effect of waiting time on local control and survival in head and neck carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: To determine the influence of waiting time for radiotherapy on local control and survival in a cohort of patients with head and neck carcinoma of different locations and stages treated with radiotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 797 patients with squamous cell carcinoma located in the oral cavity, pharynx or larynx, treated with radiotherapy, and with a minimum follow-up of 3 years. Local recurrence and survival were analyzed in function of the waiting time, defined as the interval between date of histologic diagnosis and date of radiotherapy. A univariate and multivariate analysis was carried out. RESULTS: Median waiting time to radiotherapy was 44 days (25 and 75% quartiles: 33 and 60 days). There were significant differences in the waiting time period in relation to the primary location and the local extension of the tumor. Both univariate and multivariate analysis showed that waiting time had no significant impact either on local control or survival. CONCLUSION: Within the range of the waiting time observed in our study, delay in the initiation of radiotherapy did not affect local control or survival in patients with head and neck carcinoma.

[Neurofibromatosis type 2]. / Neurofibromatosis tipo 2.

Type 2 neurofibromatosis (NF2) is an invalidating, inherited, dominant, autosomal disease. It is commonly confused with type 1 neurofibromatosis, although the two disorders are different. All subjects who inherit a mutated NF2 gene will develop the disease, which is characterised by the growth of schwannomas, generally affecting the vestibular nerve bilaterally, as well as meningiomas and other benign central nervous system tumours, before their third decade of life. It is currently possible to identify the NF2 mutation in most affected families. Up to about 20% of NF2 patients with no family history, apparently sporadic cases, are actually individuals with mosaicism for this mutation. Much of the morbidity from these tumours results from their treatment, which is primarily surgical. Small vestibular schwannomas can often be completely resected with preservation of both hearing and facial function. In case of large tumours it is possible to place a cochlear or brain stem implant during the schwannoma surgery. Age at diagnosis, the presence of intracranial meningiomas, and whether the patient was treated at a specialty centre or not, have been cited as the strongest prognostic factors.

Neurofibromatosis tipo 2 / Neurofibromatosis type 2

La neurofibromatosis tipo 2 es una enfermedad invalidante que se hereda de forma autosómica dominante. A menudo se ha confundido con la neurofibromatosis tipo 1, aunque son patologías distintas. Todos los sujetos que hereden una mutación en el gen de la neurofibromatosis tipo 2 (NF2), desarrollarán dicha enfermedad, caracterizada por el crecimiento de schwanomas, habitualmente vestibulares y de forma bilateral, así como meningiomas u otros tumores benignos del sistema nervioso central, antes de los 30 años de edad. Actualmente, podemos identificar la mutación del NF2 en la mayoría de las familias afectas. Hasta un 20% de los pacientes afectos de NF2 sin historia familiar, aparentemente casos esporádicos, son en realidad individuos con mosaicismo para esa mutación. La morbilidad de esos tumores es en gran medida debida a su tratamiento, que es principalmente quirúrgico. Cuando son pequeños, los schwanomas vestibulares se pueden resecar completamente con preservación tanto de la función auditiva como facial. En caso de tumores grandes se puede colocar un implante coclear o bien de tronco cerebral durante el mismo acto quirúrgico. Los principales factores pronósticos son: la edad media al diagnóstico, la presencia de meningiomas intracraneales y si el paciente fue tratado o no en un centro especializado (AU)

Type 2 neurofibromatosis (NF2) is an invalidating, inherited, dominant, autosomal disease. It is commonly confused with type 1 neurofibromatosis, although the two disorders are different. All subjects who inherit a mutated NF2 gene will develop the disease, which is characterised by the growth of schwannomas, generally affecting the vestibular nerve bilaterally, as well as meningiomas and other benign central nervous system tumours, before their third decade of life. It is currently possible to identify the NF2 mutation in most affected families. Up to about 20% of NF2 patients with no family history, apparently sporadic cases, are actually individuals with mosaicism for this mutation. Much of the morbidity from these tumours results from their treatment, which is primarily surgical. Small vestibular schwannomas can often be completely resected with preservation of both hearing and facial function. In case of large tumours it is possible to place a cochlear or brain stem implant during the schwannoma surgery. Age at diagnosis, the presence of intracranial meningiomas, and whether the patient was treated at a specialty centre or not, have been cited as the strongest prognostic factors (AU)