Impact of treatment on quality of life for oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma.

This study evaluates the changes in quality of life (QoL) from pre-treatment to 3 years after commencement of treatment and its relation to therapeutic variables in patients with oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma. QoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaires and the EORTC head and neck cancer specific module QLQ-H&N35. QoL data were obtained prior to treatment and 1 and 3 years after treatment began. Of 128 patients, 69 completed all the questionnaires over the course of 3 years. Variable deterioration of QoL scores was detected before treatment. Most of the parameters worsened significantly after treatment and during the first year, and improved by the third year. Patients who underwent surgical treatment combined with adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy generally showed worse scores and needed a long time to recover from the disease and the treatment adverse effects. This long-term prospective study performed using the EORCT questionnaires in a homogeneous group of patients with oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma may allow better understanding of the impact of treatment and the changes in QoL that occur.

[Cervicobrachial fibromatosis presenting in the mother and the child simultaneously]. / Fibromatosis cervicobraquial de aparición simultánea en madre e hijo.

Fibromatosis is the proliferation of connective tissue with local infiltrative growth and a tendency to relapse in contrast with fibrosarcoma which never produces metastases. Two patients, a mother and son diagnosed with fibromatosis of initial cervical location in whom surgical extirpation and complementary radiotherapy were performed. The mother underwent polychemotherapy (adriamicine plus dacarbazine) because of extensive relapse. Definitive resolution was achieved in both cases.

[Polychemotherapy treatment with cisplatin, adriamycin, 5-fluorouracil (FAP) and cisplatin, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (CISCA) in advanced transitional carcinoma of the bladder]. / Tratamiento poliquimioterápico con cisplatino, adriamicina, 5-fluoracilo (PAF) y cisplatino, adriamicina y ciclofosfamida (CISCA) en el carcinoma transicional avanzado de vejiga.

We study 50 patients with advanced bladder carcinoma, divided into two protocols of 25 patients, treated with polychemotherapy. Protocol I (PAF) formed by DDP at 20 mgrs/m2 day 1 to 5, ADM at 50 mgrs./m2 day 1 and 5-FU at 500 mgrs./m2 day 1, and Protocol II (CISCA) made up of the combination of DDP at 75 mgrs./m2 day 1, ADM at 50 mgrs./2 day 1 and CPM at 600 mgrs./m2 I.V. day 1. In Protocol I the overall response was 60% (RC = 28%, RP = 32%), with amean response duration of 12.24 months, after receiving an average of 4.8 cycles. In Protocol II the results were 60% (RC = 16%, RP = 44%), 7.04 months and 5 cycles per patient, respectively. Both protocols were tolerated well, although Protcol I proved more toxic. Nauseas, vomiting and alopecia were the most common symptoms. There was no significant difference between the survival of responders and non-responders with Protocol I, but there was with Protocol II with (p less than 0.01).