Oral pseudomembranous candidiasis (OPC) was evaluated in 61 patients receiving head and neck radiotherapy (RT). Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) reactivation was also investigated in 14 patients. According to the agreed protocol, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) mouthwash was administered in 46 patients with radiation-induced ulcers. Candidiasis was diagnosed in 31 patients. Candida albicans was the most frequent isolate. Multiple Candida species were isolated from the lesions of four patients. Concurrent candidiasis and radiation-induced ulcers were observed in 17 patients. Viral culture and the polymerase chain reaction disclosed the presence of HSV-1 in five patients. Twenty of the 46 patients, with initial mucositis grade II and grade III, completed RT with mucositis grade I, indicating a beneficial effect of GMCSF mouthwash, although further controlled studies are necessary to verify that. In conclusion, OPC was an important infection in patients undergoing radiotherapy. The role of HSV-1 in oral mucositis during head and neck radiotherapy needs additional study.

Fluconazole prophylaxis showed a significant beneficial impact on the severity of mucositis and on radiotherapy interruptions in this group of patients. The current study provides data on the build of a randomized controlled trial on the effect of fluconazole prophylaxis on treatment schedule and quality of life of the patients during head and neck radiotherapy.

HSV-1 was isolated from 14 of 29 available smears taken from 48 patients with ulcerative mucositis. The incidence of HSV-1 infection during radiotherapy was estimated as being 14 of all 48 patients at risk (29.1%). Healing or reduction in the grade of mucositis after antivirals in HSV-1 positive patients, combined with the negative response to antivirals in HSV-1 negative patients, denoted that HSV-1 infection was a component of ulcerative radiation mucositis in those HSV-1-positive patients.

Our preliminary results indicate an induction of apoptosis and inflammation in the oral mucosa in patients developing mucositis during radiotherapy for head/neck cancer.

No abstract

During the last decade, the development of new drugs known as targeted therapies was the result of a better understanding of the processes involved in the transformation of normal cells into cancer. The term targeted therapy refers to drugs that selectively target specific molecular pathways involved in tumorigenesis or tumour progression. Angiogenesis is important for tumour growth and metastasis, and is an important target for new biological agents. Bevacizumab is a humanised recombinant antibody that prevents vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor binding, and inhibits angiogenesis and tumour growth. On February 26, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration approved bevacizumab as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). The integration of targeted therapies in the treatment of colon cancer has resulted in significant improvements in efficacy outcomes. The efficacy of bevacizumab in the treatment of metastatic CRC is presented in this review article.

No abstract

Ameloblastoma is known as a benign, slow-growing, rare, odontogenic neoplasm. The solid/multicystic, the unicystic with a fibrous connective-tissue capsule and the peripheral ameloblastoma represent the three well distinguished clinical types of ameloblastoma. Surgical resection with an attempt to achieve adequate free margins constitutes a well documented and accepted treatment modality. Controversies exist, however, with regard to the extent of operative intervention. Patients with inadequate or positive surgical margins or unresectable lesions can be treated with radiation or combined radiation and chemotherapy. The authors present a review of this sparse disease focusing on the special role and efficacy of radiation therapy in its management.