Dysphagia, trismus and speech impairment following radiation-based treatment for advanced stage oropharyngeal carcinoma: a one-year prospective evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess swallowing, mouth opening and speech function during the first year after radiation-based treatment (RT(+)) after introduction of a dedicated preventive rehabilitation program for stage III-IV oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC). METHODS: Swallowing, mouth opening and speech function were collected before and at six- and twelve-month follow-up after RT(+) for OPC as part of ongoing prospective assessments by speech-language pathologists . RESULTS: Objective and patient-perceived function deteriorated until 6 months and improved until 12 months after treatment, but did not return to baseline levels with 25%, 20% and 58% of the patients with objective dysphagia, trismus and speech problems, respectively. Feeding tube dependency and pneumonia prevalence was low. CONCLUSION: Despite successful implementation, a substantial proportion of patients still experience functional limitations after RT(+) for OPC, suggesting room for improvement of the current rehabilitation program. Pretreatment sarcopenia seems associated with worse functional outcomes and might be a relevant new target for rehabilitation strategies.

PSMA PET/CT Identifies Intrapatient Variation in Salivary Gland Toxicity From Iodine-131 Therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Xerostomia is a well-known complication after iodine-131 (131I) therapy for thyroid carcinoma. It is currently insufficiently understood how the dose and biodistribution of 131I relates to salivary gland toxicity, and whether this is consistent for all salivary glands within a single patient. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) was recently introduced as a new tool to evaluate the relative loss of vital acinar cells in individual salivary glands. We aimed to assess gland-specific salivary gland toxicity after 131I-therapy using PSMA PET/CT. METHODS: Five patients with differentiated thyroid cancer underwent [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT to evaluate their eligibility for peptide radioligand therapy with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617. Uptake patterns in salivary glands were evaluated visually and quantitatively as an indicator of vital acinar cell loss after prior 131I-therapy. RESULTS: Four of 5 patients demonstrated significant lowered uptake in at least one salivary gland, after receiving at least 2 131I-treatments. Asymmetric loss of vital acinar cells occurred by gland type (parotid/submandibular) and location (right/left). The other salivary glands in these patients and all salivary glands in the fifth patient showed normal uptake, demonstrating high intrapatient and interpatient variability. CONCLUSIONS: 131I-therapy can induce salivary gland toxicity with high inter- but also high intrapatient variation among separate gland locations, which can be assessed with PSMA PET/CT. This new technique offers potential to guide further development and evaluation of protective measures in patients receiving 131I-therapy.

Sarcopenia, a strong determinant for prolonged feeding tube dependency after chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia might be a relevant lead for optimization of the condition of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) before chemoradiotherapy (CRT) to prevent long-term functional swallowing impairment, such as feeding tube dependency. METHODS: Regression analyses were performed to assess the association between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), as a measure of sarcopenia, and prolonged (>90 days) feeding tube dependency in 128 patients with HNC treated with primary CRT. RESULTS: Sixty-one patients (48%) became prolonged feeding tube-dependent. Lower SMI increased the risk of prolonged feeding tube dependency in multivariable analysis (risk ratio 1.08; 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.14, P = .01) adjusted for body mass index, abnormal diet, and socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcopenia contributes to the risk of prolonged feeding tube dependency of patients with HNC treated with primary CRT. As sarcopenia might be a modifiable factor prior to treatment, it should be explored as a target for pretreatment patients' condition.

Variation in Integrated Head and Neck Cancer Care: Impact of Patient and Hospital Characteristics.

Background: Monitoring and effectively improving oncologic integrated care requires dashboard information based on quality registrations. The dashboard includes evidence-based quality indicators (QIs) that measure quality of care. This study aimed to assess the quality of current integrated head and neck cancer care with QIs, the variation between Dutch hospitals, and the influence of patient and hospital characteristics. Methods: Previously, 39 QIs were developed with input from medical specialists, allied health professionals, and patients' perspectives. QI scores were calculated with data from 1,667 curatively treated patients in 8 hospitals. QIs with a sample size of >400 patients were included to calculate reliable QI scores. We used multilevel analysis to explain the variation. Results: Current care varied from 29% for the QI about a case manager being present to discuss the treatment plan to 100% for the QI about the availability of a treatment plan. Variation between hospitals was small for the QI about patients discussed in multidisciplinary team meetings (adherence: 95%, range 88%-98%), but large for the QI about malnutrition screening (adherence: 50%, range 2%-100%). Higher QI scores were associated with lower performance status, advanced tumor stage, and tumor in the oral cavity or oropharynx at the patient level, and with more curatively treated patients (volume) at hospital level. Conclusions: Although the quality registration was only recently launched, it already visualizes hospital variation in current care. Four determinants were found to be influential: tumor stage, performance status, tumor site, and volume. More data are needed to assure stable results for use in quality improvement.

Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma in a Transgender Woman.

Breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a rare but serious complication in patients with breast implants, Patients are at risk of BIA-ALCL whether they receive breast implants for cosmetic reasons or for reconstructive purposes after surgery for breast cancer or prophylactic mastectomy. During the past decade, an increased number of reports have addressed BIA-ALCL. Herein, we describe BIA-ALCL in a transgender woman. The patient received breast implants as part of her gender transition and was diagnosed with BIA-ALCL 20 years later. The patient underwent several revisional operations in the 20 years after her primary breast surgery to treat unexplained pain with low-grade fever, severe capsular contracture (Baker grade III-IV), and several instances of implant rupture. In July 2016, the patient presented to our office with "late-onset" periprosthetic seroma 5 years after her last revisional breast surgery. She was diagnosed with BIA-ALCL without capsular invasion based on results of cytologic analysis of the periprosthetic seroma and histologic evaluation of the periprosthetic capsule. This diagnosis was verified further by results of immunohistochemical testing, which indicated expression of CD30 and T-cell markers in the periprosthetic seroma only. Our intentions with this case report are to demonstrate that all patients who undergo breast implantation, including transgender women, are at risk of BIA-ALCL and to highlight the importance of cytomorphologic and immunohistochemical screening of seroma fluid in patients with late-onset periprosthetic seroma. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5.

Feedback preferences of patients, professionals and health insurers in integrated head and neck cancer care.

BACKGROUND: Audit and feedback on professional practice and health care outcomes are the most often used interventions to change behaviour of professionals and improve quality of health care. However, limited information is available regarding preferred feedback for patients, professionals and health insurers. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the (differences in) preferences of receiving feedback between stakeholders, using the Dutch Head and Neck Audit as an example. METHODS: A total of 37 patients, medical specialists, allied health professionals and health insurers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Questions focussed on: "Why," "On what aspects" and "How" do you prefer to receive feedback on professional practice and health care outcomes? RESULTS: All stakeholders mentioned that feedback can improve health care by creating awareness, enabling self-reflection and reflection on peers or colleagues, and by benchmarking to others. Patients prefer feedback on the actual professional practice that matches the health care received, whereas medical specialists and health insurers are interested mainly in health care outcomes. All stakeholders largely prefer a bar graph. Patients prefer a pie chart for patient-reported outcomes and experiences, while Kaplan-Meier survival curves are preferred by medical specialists. Feedback should be simple with firstly an overview, and 1-4 times a year sent by e-mail. Finally, patients and health professionals are cautious with regard to transparency of audit data. CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory study shows how feedback preferences differ between stakeholders. Therefore, tailored reports are recommended. Using this information, effects of audit and feedback can be improved by adapting the feedback format and contents to the preferences of stakeholders.