https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/fohs/communityhealth/Family/Documents/DOCTOR-PATIENT%20COMMUNICATION%20A%20REVIEW%20OF.pdf

Doctor-patient communication: a review of the literature.

We describe a protocol for disclosing unfavorable information—“breaking bad news”—to cancer patients about their illness. Straightforward and practical, the protocol meets the requirements defined by published research on this topic. The protocol (SPIKES) consists of six steps. The goal is to enable the clinician to fulfill the four most important objectives of the interview disclosing bad news: gathering information from the patient, transmitting the medical information, providing support to the patient, and eliciting the patient’s collaboration in developing a strategy or treatment plan for the future. Oncologists, oncology trainees, and medical students who have been taught the protocol have reported increased confidence in their ability to disclose unfavorable medical information to patients. Directions for continuing assessment of the protocol are suggested. The Oncologist 2000;5:302-311

/pdf/spikes-a-six-step-protocol-for-delivering-bad-news-3bcah1imyb.pdf

SPIKES-A six-step protocol for delivering bad news: application to the patient with cancer.

BACKGROUND
A frequent complication of anticancer treatment, oral and gastrointestinal (GI) mucositis, threatens the effectiveness of therapy because it leads to dose reductions, increases healthcare costs, and impairs patients' quality of life. The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer and the International Society for Oral Oncology assembled an international multidisciplinary panel of experts to create clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of mucositis.

METHODS
The panelists examined medical literature published from January 1966 through May 2002, presented their findings at two separate conferences, and then created a writing committee that produced two articles: the current study and another that codifies the clinical implications of the panel's findings in practice guidelines.

RESULTS
New evidence supports the view that oral mucositis is a complex process involving all the tissues and cellular elements of the mucosa. Other findings suggest that some aspects of mucositis risk may be determined genetically. GI proapoptotic and antiapoptotic gene levels change along the GI tract, perhaps explaining differences in the frequency with which mucositis occurs at different sites. Studies of mucositis incidence in clinical trials by quality and using meta-analysis techniques produced estimates of incidence that are presented herein for what to our knowledge may be a broader range of cancers than ever presented before.

CONCLUSIONS
Understanding the pathobiology of mucositis, its incidence, and scoring are essential for progress in research and care directed at this common side-effect of anticancer therapies. Cancer 2004;100(9 Suppl):1995–2025. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/cncr.20162

Perspectives on cancer therapy-induced mucosal injury: pathogenesis, measurement, epidemiology, and consequences for patients

The middle-range nursing theory of uncertainty in illness is presented from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. The theory explains how persons construct meaning for illness events, with uncertainty indicating the absence of meaning. A model of the uncertainty theory displaying the concepts and their relationships forms the basis for the theoretical and empirical material. Discussion of the theory is organized around three major themes: the antecedents of uncertainty, the process of uncertainty appraisal and coping with uncertainty.

Uncertainty in Illness

Elastomeric biomaterials for tissue engineering

The uptake of 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) in neck lymph nodes of twelve patients with a squamous-cell carcinoma of the oral cavity was studied with PET in order to detect and locate lymphogenic metastases. Methods: The results of FDG-PET imaging were compared with clinical, MRI and histopathologic findings. Standardized uptake values (SUV) were also calculated. Results: A sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 88% were calculated for FDG-PET. In contrast, a sensitivity of 36% and a specificity of 94% were calculated for MRI. Calculated SUVs for reactive lymph nodes, metastatic lymph nodes and the primary tumor were undifferentiated. Conclusion: Using FDG-PET, lymph node metastases of squamous-cell carcinomas of the oral cavity can be visualized with a high sensitivity and specificity. FDG-PET can be an improvement in the evaluation of the neck.

http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/36/2/211.full.pdf

Detection of lymph-node metastases of squamous-cell cancer of the head and neck with fdg-pet and mri

BACKGROUND. The potential of positron emission tomography (PET) with F-18-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) to detect primary tumors after unsuccessful conventional diagnostic workup was assessed in patients with metastatic disease from an unknown primary tumor. METHODS. Twenty-nine patients with various histologic types of metastases from an unknown primary site were studied after unsuccessful conventional diagnostic workup. The patients received 370 megabecquerels (MBq) (10 millicuries) FDG intravenously and whole body scans were made after 30 minutes after injection onward. RESULTS, All but one known metastatic tumor sites were visualized. Additional metastases were discovered in five patients. With FDG-PET the primary tumor was identified in 7 patients (24%): in 2 patients with carcinoma of the nasopharynx, in I patient with plasmacytoma of the base of the tongue, in 1 patient with carcinoma of the lung, in 1 patient with carcinoma of the colon, and in 2 patients with breast carcinoma. FDG-PET did not identify a primary tumor in the remaining 22 patients (76%). Despite a negative PET study, the primary lesion was identified in a later phase in 3 of these patients (14%). Survival was not altered by discovery of the primary tumor. CONCLUSIONS. A previously unknown primary turner was able to be identified with FDG-PET in 7 of 29 patients after an unsuccessful conventional diagnostic workup. However, the clinical relevance of PET information in this setting is limited. (C) 1998 American Cancer Society.

Detection of unknown occult primary tumors using positron emission tomography

In addition to the desired antitumor effects, head and neck radiation therapy induces damage in normal tissues that may result in oral sequelae such as mucositis, hyposalivation, radiation caries, taste loss, trismus, soft-tissue necrosis, and osteoradionecrosis. These sequelae may be dose-limiting and have a tremendous effect on the patient's quality of life. Current policies to prevent these sequelae primarily are based on clinical experience and show great diversity. A protocol for the prevention and treatment of oral sequelae resulting from head and neck radiation therapy, based on fundamental research and data derived from the literature, is presented. The protocol is particularly applicable in centers with a dental team. This team should be involved at the time of initial diagnosis so that a successful preventive regimen is an integral part of the overall cancer treatment regimen.

Protocol for the prevention and treatment of oral sequelae resulting from head and neck radiation therapy.

Detection of unknown primary head and neck tumors by positron emission tomography

Aggressive fibromatosis is a rare soft tissue tumour with a high tendency to local recurrence, even after apparently adequate resection. Wide local excision with a margin of at least 3 cm, depending on the anatomical location, should be performed to improve rates of recurrent disease. There is no consensus concerning the role of radiotherapy in the treatment of these lesions. The clinical findings of 39 cases diagnosed between 1972 and 1991 were reviewed retrospectively. Local control was effected in 19 of 32 patients treated with surgery alone after a median (range) follow-up of 72 (18-236) months. There were 40 cases of recurrent fibromatosis in 15 patients. Local control was obtained in 13 of 14 patients who received radiotherapy using a wide-field technique and doses of more than 50 Gy over a period of 5 weeks after marginal or incomplete resection of primary or recurrent lesions (P <0.001). The results suggest that in a selected group of patients with aggressive fibromatosis radiotherapy may effectively achieve control of residual disease after surgery without marked disfigurement and loss of function.

Albert Vermey

Papers

Detection of lymph-node metastases of squamous-cell cancer of the head and neck with fdg-pet and mri

Detection of unknown occult primary tumors using positron emission tomography

Protocol for the prevention and treatment of oral sequelae resulting from head and neck radiation therapy.

Detection of unknown primary head and neck tumors by positron emission tomography

Aggressive fibromatosis (non-familial desmoid tumour): therapeutic problems and the role of adjuvant radiotherapy.