Special Adjuncts to Treatment

Patients with head-and-neck cancers who are free of disease after local therapy remain at high risk for both recurrent and second primary tumors. Retinoids have proved efficacious in the treatment of premalignant oral lesions and are promising agents for the prevention of epithelial carcinogenesis. We prospectively studied 103 patients who were disease-free after primary treatment for squamous-cell cancers of the larynx, pharynx, or oral cavity. After completion of surgery or radiotherapy (or both), these patients were randomly assigned to receive either isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid) (50 to 100 mg per square meter of body-surface area per day) or placebo, to be taken daily for 12 months. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the number of local, regional, or distant recurrences of the primary cancers. However, the isotretinoin group had significantly fewer second primary tumors. After a median follow-up of 32 months, only 2 patients (4 percent) in the isotretinoin group had second primary tumors, as compared with 12 (24 percent) in the placebo group (P = 0.005). Multiple second primary tumors occurred in four patients, all of whom were in the placebo group. Of the 14 second cancers, 13 (93 percent) occurred in the head and neck, esophagus, or lung. Daily treatment with high doses of isotretinoin is effective in preventing second primary tumors in patients who have been treated for squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck, although it does not prevent recurrences of the original tumor.

To evaluate foveal microstructural changes in eyes with anatomically successful repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RRDs). Retrospective, consecutive, observational case series. Fifty-three eyes of 51 consecutive patients with macula-on RRDs (15 eyes) or macula-off RRDs (38 eyes) after anatomically successful surgical repair. A microscopic fundus examination was conducted followed by Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) to assess the postoperative foveal microstructure. The correlation between the postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and microstructural findings at the fovea was evaluated. Images of the foveal microstructure obtained by FD-OCT and the BCVA measured on the same day. We obtained FD-OCT images a mean of 10.3+/-7.3 months (range, 1-25) postoperatively. Foveal anatomic abnormalities were detected in 33 eyes (62%); disruption of the junction between the photoreceptor inner and outer segments (IS/OS) in 23 eyes (43%), of which 9 eyes (39%) had a disrupted external limiting membrane (ELM); residual subretinal fluid in 6 eyes (11%), epiretinal membranes in 12 eyes (23%), and cystoid macular edema in 2 eyes (4%). Disruption of the photoreceptor IS/OS junction was observed only in macula-off eyes, whereas other microstructural abnormalities were observed in both macula-on and macula-off eyes. In preoperative macula-off eyes, the postoperative BCVA was significantly correlated with the integrity of the photoreceptor IS/OS and ELM signals detected by FD-OCT postoperatively (r=0.805; P<0.001). Of the 16 eyes followed by FD-OCT, the photoreceptor IS/OS junction was restored in 7 (64%) of the 11 eyes with a disrupted back-reflection line from the IS/OS junction, but without disrupted ELM signals at the initial examination. Of the 5 eyes with disrupted back-reflection lines from both IS/OS junction and ELM at the initial examination, the photoreceptor layer was not restored completely during the follow-up period in any eyes. After anatomically successful RRD repair, FD-OCT is a valuable, noninvasive tool for evaluating foveal microstructural changes. The integrity of the photoreceptor IS/OS junction and ELM signals detected by FD-OCT may account for visual restoration in patients with preoperative macula-off RRDs. Preservation of the ELM postoperatively may predict the subsequent restoration of the photoreceptor layer.