Salvage of a blade-implant bridge.

This paper describes an aesthetic and functional treatment for the replacement of a failing bridge supported by blade implants where the patient refused further surgery.

Radiation dose and breast cancer risk in patients treated for cancer of the cervix.

The relationship between breast cancer and radiation treatment for cervical cancer was evaluated in an international study of 953 women who subsequently developed breast cancer and 1,806 matched controls. Radiation doses to the breast (average 0.31 Gy) and ovaries (average 32 Gy) were reconstructed for exposed subjects on the basis of their original radiotherapy records. Overall, 88% of the breast cancer cases and 89% of the controls received radiation treatment [relative risk (RR) = 0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.7-1.2]. Among women with intact ovaries (561 cases, 1,037 controls), radiotherapy was linked to a significant 35% reduction in breast cancer risk, attributable in all likelihood to the cessation of ovarian function. Ovarian doses of 6 Gy were sufficient to reduce breast cancer risk but larger doses did not reduce risk further. This saturation-type response is probably due to the killing of a critical number of ovarian cells. Cervical cancer patients without ovaries (145 cases, 284 controls) were analyzed separately because such women are at especially low natural risk for breast cancer development. In theory, any effect of low-dose breast exposure, received incidentally during treatment for cervical cancer, should be more readily detectable. Among women without ovaries, there was a slight increase in breast cancer risk (RR = 1.07; 95% CI = 0.6-2.0), and a suggestion of a dose response with the RR being 1.0, 0.7, 1.5 and 3.1 for breast doses of 0, 0.01-0.24, 0.25-0.49 and 0.50+ Gy, respectively. However, this trend of increasing RR was not statistically significant. If low-dose radiation increases the risk of breast cancer among women over age 40 years, it appears that the risk is much lower than would be predicted from studies of younger women exposed to higher doses.

Radiation dose and second cancer risk in patients treated for cancer of the cervix.

The risk of cancer associated with a broad range of organ doses was estimated in an international study of women with cervical cancer. Among 150,000 patients reported to one of 19 population-based cancer registries or treated in any of 20 oncology clinics, 4188 women with second cancers and 6880 matched controls were selected for detailed study. Radiation doses for selected organs were reconstructed for each patient on the basis of her original radiotherapy records. Very high doses, on the order of several hundred gray, were found to increase the risk of cancers of the bladder [relative risk (RR) = 4.0], rectum (RR = 1.8), vagina (RR = 2.7), and possibly bone (RR = 1.3), uterine corpus (RR = 1.3), cecum (RR = 1.5), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (RR = 2.5). For all female genital cancers taken together, a sharp dose-response gradient was observed, reaching fivefold for doses more than 150 Gy. Several gray increased the risk of stomach cancer (RR = 2.1) and leukemia (RR = 2.0). Although cancer of the pancreas was elevated, there was no evidence of a dose-dependent risk. Cancer of the kidney was significantly increased among 15-year survivors. A nonsignificant twofold risk of radiogenic thyroid cancer was observed following an average dose of only 0.11 Gy. Breast cancer was not increased overall, despite an average dose of 0.31 Gy and 953 cases available for evaluation (RR = 0.9); there was, however, a weak suggestion of a dose response among women whose ovaries had been surgically removed. Doses greater than 6 Gy to the ovaries reduced breast cancer risk by 44%. A significant deficit of ovarian cancer was observed within 5 years of radiotherapy; in contrast, a dose response was suggested among 10-year survivors. Radiation was not found to increase the overall risk of cancers of the small intestine, colon, ovary, vulva, connective tissue, breast, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. For most cancers associated with radiation, risks were highest among long-term survivors and appeared concentrated among women irradiated at relatively younger ages.

A clinical trial evaluating cholestyramine to prevent diarrhea in patients maintained on low-fat diets during pelvic radiation therapy.

A prospective randomized trial to determine the value of a low fat diet with or without cholestyramine in the treatment of acute intestinal complications of pelvic irradiation is presented. A total of 35 patients receiving pelvic irradiation were entered in the study and all patients had received a 40 gm fat diet. The group was then randomized to receive either placebo (17 patients) or cholestyramine (18 patients). Diarrhea occurred in six out of 16 evaluable patients in the control group and only one of the 17 evaluable patients in the cholestyramine group. The frequency of diarrhea and the diarrhea scale remained high in the placebo group in the entire observation period. Statistical analysis had revealed better diarrhea control in the cholestyramine group (p = less than 0.05). In this report mechanism by which diarrhea occurs following pelvic irradiation is discussed. The adverse effects associated with the use of cholestyramine have been presented. It was concluded that cholestyramine is effective in preventing acute diarrhea induced by pelvic irradiation in patients receiving a low fat diet but is associated with side effects.

Perichondritis of the larynx following radiation.

In a retrospective study of 348 patients receiving radiotherapy as the primary treatment for carcinoma involving the laryngeal region, perichondritis developed in 52--an incidence of 15%. Of these 52 cases of clinically diagnosed perichondritis, 50% had residual or recurrent carcinoma. A controversy exists regarding the value of frequent and multiple biopsies in these patients; disease will be missed if this is not done, but perichondritis and cartilage necrosis may result from infection introduced by repeated laryngeal manipulation. On the basis of this study the authors recommend an aggressive approach with close follow-up and multiple frequent biopsies as the data indicate an incidence of 50% recurrent or residual tumor when perichondritis is present.