University of Saint Mary

About: University of Saint Mary is a education organization based out in Leavenworth, Kansas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 2276 authors who have published 2399 publications receiving 58990 citations. The organization is also known as: University of St. Mary & University of St Mary.

Cancer of unknown primary origin: a decade of experience in a community-based hospital.

Abstract: Background Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) origin is a very aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. Most of the literature reports of CUP are generated from tertiary cancer centers. Methods A retrospective chart review of all patients with a diagnosis of CUP was performed between January 1995 and January 2005. Age, gender, diagnostic evaluation, histologic diagnosis, location of metastases, treatment, and survival were recorded. Results Ninety-one patients met the inclusion criteria. The pathologic diagnoses included adenocarcinoma (42.8%), undifferentiated carcinoma (34.5%), squamous cell carcinoma (9.8%), neuroendocrine cancer (6.5%), sarcoma (3.2%), and nonspecific malignant neoplasm (3.2%). The overall mean survival was 9.2 months (95% confidence interval, 6.1–12.4 mo), and for squamous cell carcinoma was 26.9 months (standard error, 5.7; P = .007). Conclusions CUP encompasses a variety of different pathologic entities with an overall dismal 5-year survival. Nonetheless, squamous cell and neuroendocrine CUP are associated with a significantly better early prognosis than the other malignancies.

Utility of sentinel node biopsy in vulvar and vaginal melanoma: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Abstract: Sentinel node (SN) biopsy is widely applied for treatment planning of cutaneous melanoma. However, using this strategy in female lower genital tract tumors has not yet been established. We report two cases, one each of vulvar and vaginal melanoma who underwent SN biopsy and review the available literature. Our experience and available limited evidence suggests that this low morbidity technique can be used for obtaining prognostic information and hence treatment planning for this disease. However, a false negative rate perhaps in the order of 15% suggests that careful consideration is necessary before using sentinel lymph node biopsy in the management of vulvar and vaginal melanoma.