Oral management of patients following oncology treatment: literature review.

Many tumours of the head and neck are treated by clinical oncologists using radiotherapy. This treatment modality is particularly effective in destroying rapidly dividing cells, hence its value in cancer treatment. The tissues of the oral mucosa, the salivary glands and blood vessels can be damaged as the result of radiotherapy treatment. As a result, patients experience unwanted oral effects that have both short and long-term implications. The outlook following treatment for head and neck cancer continues to improve and, as people keep their teeth into later life, dentists will increasingly be expected to address the oral problems that patients experience after radiotherapy. The aim of this article is to review the current literature concerning the implications and management of these oral implications of cancer treatment.

Two-photon photodynamic therapy.

OBJECTIVE: We demonstrate the use of infrared excitation in conjunction with an efficient two-photon absorbing dye and a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: An efficient two-photon absorbing dye is excited by short infrared (800 nm) laser pulses, which transfer its energy to the photosensitizer and the photosensitizer, in turn, generates the singlet oxygen. METHODS: A new approach to photodynamic cancer therapy based on the strong two-photon absorption of certain newly developed organic molecules. Near infrared pulsed laser light efficiently excites these molecules which, in turn, transfer the energy to the photosensitizer used in photodynamic therapy. RESULTS: A newly synthesized two-photon absorbing dye 4-[N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-(methyl) amino phenyl]-4'-(6-hydroxyhexyl sulfonyl)stilbene (APSS), which exhibits a strong two-photon absorption at 800 nm, and upconverted fluorescence at 520 nm, in solution in the presence of a photosensitizer was found to generate singlet oxygen under infrared excitation (800 nm). The generation of singlet oxygen in a reaction system containing two-photon absorbing dye and photosensitizer under infrared excitation has been chemically detected by using ADPA (9,10-anthracenedipropionic acid) as singlet oxygen detector. CONCLUSIONS: The efficient two-photon absorption of certain chromophores can be used to extend photodynamic therapy to the near infrared spectral region. Whereas the photosensitizer itself may not exhibit two-photon absorption, it could be used in conjunction with one of these new chromophores. The chromophores can act as "photon harvesters" whereby they absorb two photons of near infrared light and transfer the energy to the photosensitizer, which can generate singlet oxygen in the presence of atmospheric oxygen.

Comparison of pleural fluid cytology and pleural biopsy in the evaluation of pleural effusion.

Pleural fluid cytology and pleural biopsy results were studied in 65 cases of pleural effusion. The efficacy of pleural biopsy in diagnosis of neoplastic and non-neoplastic pleural diseases was compared. Of the 24 cases with confirmatory evidence of cancer, 17(70.8%) has positive cytologic findings in pleural fluid, whereas pleural biopsy was diagnostic in only 13 cases (54.1%). For non-malignant pleural effusion in 41 cases 40(97.5%) has a definite diagnosis (tuberculous pleuritis, acute fibrinous pleuritis or hydatid cyst) which could be made by cytology while only 31(75.6%) out of 41 were diagnosed on pleural biopsy. The study indicates that cytologic evaluation of pleural fluid is more efficaceous in the diagnosis of malignant and non-malignant pleural disease than percutaneous pleural biopsy.

Nucleolar organizer regions in FNAC smears of breast lesions.

The argyrophil technique for staining proteins associated with nucleolar organizing regions was applied to the fine-needle aspiration cytology smears of 45 cases of breast disease. These included 14 malignant and 31 benign lesions. A correlation with histology sections was done in 12 cases. There was a significant difference between AgNOR count of benign and malignant breast disease with one case out of 45 falling in the "gray" zone of overlap. Infiltrating lobular carcinoma was found to have the lowest NOR counts among the malignant lesions. The smear staining was superior to that on sections, the positive features being lack of background staining and better dispersion of NORs in the nucleoli.

Fine needle aspiration cytodiagnosis of subcutaneous sacrococcygeal myxopapillary ependymoma. A case report.

A tumor located subcutaneously over the coccyx of a 32-year-old woman was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology as a myxopapillary ependymoma originating in the soft tissue. The FNA smears showed characteristic papillary structures, consisting of a central mucinous core surrounded by cuboidal-to-columnar cells, and scattered ependymal cells. The excised tumor was connected to neither the filum terminale nor the cauda equina. Histopathologic study confirmed the cytologic findings.

Aspiration cytology of hemangiopericytoma: a report on two cases.

The cytological features of fine-needle aspiration in two cases of hemangiopericytoma are described. The diagnosis was confirmed by cell block and the silver impregnation method, demonstrating reticulin fibers on smears as well as on the cell block. Histopathological correlation was done in both cases.