Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a unique disease that shows clinical behaviour, epidemiology and histopathology that is different from that of other squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now the preferred imaging modality in the assessment and staging of NPC, especially in relation to its superior soft tissue contrast, ability to demonstrate perineural tumour spread, parapharyngeal space, bone marrow involvement and its ability to show the involvement of adjacent structures, such as the adjacent paranasal sinuses and intracranial extension. An understanding of its patterns of spread and the criteria used in the AJCC TNM staging system is important to relay the relevant information to the referring clinician, so that appropriate treatment planning decisions may be made. In this article, the various features of NPC that are pertinent to staging and treatment planning will be discussed, inclusive of locoregional spread, nodal involvement and metastatic disease.
Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; therapy ; Nasopharynx ; anatomy & histology ; Neoplasm Staging ; Positron-Emission Tomography

Humans ; Male ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Prostatectomy ; standards ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; surgery

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Optimal management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with concomitant Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is controversial, especially when CDI diagnosis is made by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, which may reflect colonization without infection. METHODS: We performed a multicenter review of all inpatients with IBD and PCR diagnosed CDI. Outcomes included length of stay, 30- and 90-day readmission, colectomy during admission and within 3 months, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, CDI relapse and death for patients who received corticosteroid (CS) after CDI diagnosis versus those that did not. Propensity-adjusted regression analysis of outcomes based on CS usage was performed. RESULTS: We identified 177 IBD patients with CDI, 112 ulcerative colitis and 65 Crohn's disease. For IBD overall, CS after CDI diagnosis was associated with prolonged hospitalization (5.5 days: 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5–9.6 days; P=0.008), higher colectomy rate within 3 months (odds ratio [OR], 5.5; 95% CI, 1.1–28.2; P=0.042) and more frequent ICU admissions (OR, 7.8; 95% CI, 1.5–41.6; P=0.017) versus no CS. CS use post-CDI diagnosis in UC patients was associated with prolonged hospitalization (6.2 days: 95% CI, 0.4– 12.0 days; P=0.036) and more frequent ICU admissions (OR, 7.4; 95% CI, 1.1–48.7; P=0.036). CONCLUSIONS: CS use among IBD inpatients with CDI diagnosed by PCR is associated with poorer outcomes and would seem to reinforce the importance of C. difficile toxin assay to help distinguish colonization from infection. This adverse effect appears more prominent among those with UC.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Clostridium difficile ; Clostridium ; Colectomy ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Colon ; Crohn Disease ; Diagnosis ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Inpatients ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recurrence

INTRODUCTIONGlioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumour in adults. Although the survival rate for GBM has improved with recent advancements in treatment, the prognosis remains generally poor.

METHODSWe conducted a retrospective review of GBM patients seen in National University Hospital, Singapore, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, from January 2002 to December 2011. Data on disease and treatment factors was collected and correlated with survival.

RESULTSData on a total of 107 GBM patients was analysed. Their median survival time was 15.1 months and the two-year survival rate was 23.5%, which is comparable with data published in other series. The factors associated with improved median survival time were radiotherapy dose > 50 Gy (16.1 months vs. 8.7 months, p = 0.01) and adjuvant concurrent chemotherapy (16.4 months vs. 9.2 months, p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONGBM confers a poor prognosis. Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy are associated with improved survival. Ethnicity may be a contributing factor to differences in GBM incidence and prognosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Brain Neoplasms ; ethnology ; therapy ; Female ; Glioblastoma ; ethnology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Singapore ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Outcome