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Background: Evidence suggests that cancer patients with increased travel burden to treatment centers may have limited treatment options. Purpose: To investigate the association between travel distance to a treatment facility and initial treatment choice among young men with low-risk prostate cancer in a rural state. Methods: A retrospective medical charts review was conducted of young men (65 years or younger) newly diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2014 who were treated with either active surveillance, radical prostatectomy, or brachytherapy at either of the two major hospital systems in Bismarck, ND, USA. Results: Information on a random sample of 242 patients was studied. The majority of patients (66%) received radical prostatectomy. Patients who received radical prostatectomy were significantly younger (p-value 0.001). PSA at diagnosis, clinical stage, and Gleason score were not associated with treatment choice (p-value = 0.06; p-value = 0.1794; and p-value = 1.00; respectively). Adjusting for age at diagnosis, PSA at diagnosis, and treatment facility, treatment choice was not associated with travel distance (p-value = 0.309). Patients treated at St. Alexius facility were more likely to undergo radical prostatectomy than Sanford health patients (p-value Conclusions: We found no association between travel distance and treatment choice for low-risk prostate cancer. Treatment choice was associated with institution which may suggest institutional bias in patterns of care.

BACKGROUND: The clinical impact of lymph node dissection extent remains undetermined in the contemporary setting, as reflected in care pattern variations. Despite some series demonstrating a direct relationship between number of lymph nodes identified and detection of nodal involvement, the correlation between lymph node yield and disease control or survival outcomes remains unclear. METHODS: Patients with clinically localized prostate cancer, pre-RP PSA

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a "high-risk" subpopulation of low-grade (Gleason score ≤6) prostate cancer defined by lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) relapse-free survival (bRFS) might be identified within a large population of men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) alone, with mature follow-up.Patients were retrospectively identified for inclusion by cT1-2 prostate cancer managed with RP alone. Exclusion criteria were: Gleason score ≥7 at RP, any pre- or post-RP radiotherapy or hormone therapy, or PSA follow-up 12 months. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival estimates; recursive partitioning by conditional inference analysis was applied to identify variables associated with bRFS.From 2002 through 2010, 284 eligible patients were identified. Median age was 60 years (range, 44-76 years), 233 (82%) were cT1c, and median PSA was 5.3 ng/dL (92% ≤10). The median biopsy to RP interval was 50 days (range, 11-410, with 97% 180 days). Eighty patients (28%) had positive margin (M+). At a median follow-up of 92.6 months (range, 16.9-160.9, with 45% followed ≥ 8 years), 32 patients (11%) had PSA failure, with an estimated 8-year bRFS rate of 89%. In univariate analysis, M+, extraprostatic extension, detectable initial post-RP PSA, and longer biopsy to RP interval were significantly associated with lower bRFS. M+ and longer biopsy to RP interval remained significant in multivariable analysis. Recursive partitioning analysis identified M+ as the only stratification factor, with 8-year bRFS estimates of 74% versus 95% for M+ versus margin-negative.Gleason score ≤6 prostate cancer managed using RP alone is associated with high rates of bRFS; however, margin positivity predicts early PSA failure rates in20% of patients.

Radiation therapy plays an important role in the treatment of esophageal cancer. Radiation therapy may be combined with chemotherapy, used as a component of induction therapy, used in the adjuvant setting, or used for palliation of advanced disease. Chemotherapy is also occasionally used as a solitary treatment modality for patients with esophageal cancer. Current treatment protocols include multiple agents, and agents directed against specific molecular targets have been investigated in clinical trials. This article discusses future directions related to the selection of radiation treatment protocols, novel targeted chemotherapeutic agents, and the selection of patients for surgery.

Background Temporal bone inverted papilloma (IP) is an extremely rare tumor. Its etiology is unknown and represents a source of debate. Only 2 previous cases of bilateral temporal bone IP have been reported. A case report and review of the literature via PubMed database search are presented. Mathods and Results A 52-year-old African-American man who initially underwent medial maxillectomy for right-sided nasal IP returned with bilateral temporal bone IP 7 months later without evidence of extension through the Eustachian tubes. Despite multiple resections and adjuvant radiation, the tumor transformed into squamous cell carcinoma and progressed to involve the intracranial dura, temporal lobe, and cervical dura. Conclusions Multiple origins may exist for temporal IP: direct extension, iatrogenic seeding, or development from ectopic Schneiderian epithelium. Temporal bone IP appears to represent a much more aggressive tumor than its nasal counterpart, necessitating aggressive early surgical intervention to decrease recurrence and transformation risk. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2013