ABSTRACT
The need for wound closure or surgical procedures has been commonly met by the application of sutures. Unfortunately, these are often invasive or subject to contamination. Alternative solutions are offered by surgical adhesives that can be applied and set without major disruption; a new class of supramolecular-based adhesives provides potential solutions to some of these challenges. In this study, a series of polymers utilizing dopamine as a self-assembling unit are synthesized. It is found that these motifs act as extremely effective adhesives, with control over the mechanical strength of the adhesion and materials' tensile properties enabled by changing monomer feed ratios and levels of cross-linking. These materials significantly outperform commercially available bio-adhesives, showing yield strengths after adhesion at least two times higher than that of BioGlue and Tisseel, as well as the ability to re-adhere with significant recovery of adhesion strength. Promisingly, the materials are shown to be non-cytotoxic, with cell viability > 90%, and able to perform in aqueous environments without significant loss in strength. Finally, the removal of the materials, is possible using benign organic solvents such as ethanol. These properties all demonstrate the effectiveness of the materials as potential bio-adhesives, with potential advantages for use in surgery.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in staging of advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) and at 3 months posttreatment (PETpost) is often utilized to assess response. The significance of lymph node vs primary site treatment response is incompletely understood. METHODS: We reviewed 230 patients treated with radiation therapy. PETpost response was graded at primary and nodal sites and correlated with survival. RESULTS: Median age was 58, and 83% were p16-positive. Median follow-up was 24.3 months. Nodal response at PETpost predicted improved 2-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) (93% vs 72%, P =.004), 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) (80% vs 61.3%, P =.021), and 2-year overall survival (OS) (89% vs 83%, P =.051), while primary response only predicted improved 2-year LRFS (91% vs 76% P = .035). CONCLUSION: In OPSCC patients, both nodal and primary response at 3 months on PET/CT predicted for improved LRFS, but only nodal response predicted DFS and OS.
