CFR is a safe surgical treatment for malignant tumors of the skull base, with an overall mortality of 4.7% and complication rate of 36.3%. The impact of medical comorbidity and intracranial tumor extent should be carefully considered when planning therapy for patients whose tumors are amenable to CFR.

No abstract

CFR for malignant paranasal sinus tumors is a safe surgical treatment with an overall mortality of 4.5% and complication rate of 33%. The status of surgical margins, histologic findings of the primary tumor, and intracranial extent are independent predictors of outcome.

A placebo effect appears to exist in the treatment of reflux laryngitis. However, hoarseness, when initially scored low, and throat clearing resulting from reflux laryngitis are effectively treated by omeprazole.

No abstract

This series of esthesioneuroblastoma patients (N=35) reflects an 8-year disease-free survival of 80.4%, representing a significant number of patients treated and followed at one institution for an extended period of time. No valuable pathological or molecular indicators to predict aggressive clinical behavior were found. The average time interval before recurrent disease developed was more than 6 years, far greater than that expected for other sinonasal malignancies. Therefore, extended follow-up is necessary for this patient group.

Background. Esthesioneuroblastoma is a rare tumor arising from olfactory epithelium. This retrospective review analyzed the patterns of failure and long term outcome of patients with esthesioneuroblastoma evaluated at a single institution. Methods. Forty patients with esthesioneuroblastoma were evaluated at the University of Virginia, with a median follow‐up of 130 months. In most cases, treatment consisted of combined‐modality therapy, including radiotherapy and surgery for Stages A and B disease and the addition of chemotherapy for Stage C disease. Fifteen patients received chemotherapy that included cyclophos‐phamide plus vincristine. Thirty‐eight patients received radiotherapy, with a median dose of 50 Gy. Initial surgery for 23 patients included craniofacial resection, whereas the remainder had less extensive surgery (3 had no initial surgery). Five patients were salvaged with high dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation (CTX/BMT). Results. Actuarial survivals at 5, 10, and 15 years are 78%, 71%, and 65% respectively. Fifty‐five percent of patients failed therapy, and 68% of the failures were locore‐gional. Thirty‐nine percent of recurrences occurred later than 5 years from diagnosis. Three of the five patients were successfully salvaged with CTX/BMT compared with four of seventeen patients who underwent conventional salvage therapy. Conclusions. Esthesioneuroblastoma is associated with long term survival and late recurrences. Multimodality therapy should be used initially. Durable remissions of failures can be achieved with CTX/BMT.

Throat clearing was the most intense symptom in the present group of patients with proven reflux laryngitis. Dual-sensor pH probe testing could not predict the severity of patient's reflux laryngitis symptoms or signs. Only the heartburn symptom correlated with laryngopharyngeal and esophageal reflux.