Elizabeth Sigston

Monash University (Australia) · Department of Surgery, Monash Health / Monash Institute Medical Engineering

https://www.ausbiotech.org/documents/item/826

Introduction Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with high‐dose (HD) cisplatin is the standard treatment for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA‐HNSCC). Due to the higher treatment‐related adverse effects with standard therapy, alternative regimens (non‐standard therapy), namely, lower dose weekly cisplatin, carboplatin/paclitaxel,...

“Translational Research” has traditionally been defined as taking basic scientific findings and developing new diagnostic tools, drugs, devices and treatment options for patients, that are translated into practice, reach the people and populations for whom they are intended and are implemented correctly. The implication is of a unidirectional flow...

The only alloy currently utilized for additive manufacture of bone implants, Ti–6Al–4V, has a high elastic modulus and bioinert surface, potentially inducing stress shielding and hindering osseointegration. Low-modulus materials with bioactive surfaces could significantly reduce implant failure rates by improving the interaction between implants an...

Background: Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage because the disease often causes minimal symptoms other than metastasis to neck lymph nodes. Better tools are required to assist with the early detection of OPSCC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) are potential biomarkers for early head and neck squamous cell...

Background: Quality of life (QoL) outcomes after paediatric tonsillectomy can be assessed with disease specific patient reported outcome measures. Our aim was to assess a modified T-14 Paediatric Throat Disorders Outcome Test in an Australian paediatric population undergoing tonsillectomy. Methods: A consecutive case series was conducted in childre...

Cancer has been widely accepted as a genetic disease. This thesis challenges this assumption and proposes that cancer be considered as an emergent complex system. A new framework for carcinogenesis and cancer progression is presented. This framework is applied to identify biological markers with the potential to predict recurrence in oral cancer. A...

The aim was to apply ‘An Emergence Framework of Carcinogenesis’ (EFC) to identify predictors of recurrence in OSCC. Application of EFC Principles 12, 1 and 2 identified biomarkers p63, laminin γ2 (LMγ2), and vimentin. Dual immunohistochemistry was developed to enable co-staining of p63/LMγ2 and p63/vimentin. Application of EFC Principle 11 produce...

Experimental paradigms provide the framework for the understanding of cancer, and drive research and treatment, but are rarely considered by clinicians. The somatic mutation theory (SMT), in which cancer is considered a genetic disease, has been the predominant traditional model of cancer for over 50 years. More recently, alternative theories have...

Background The presence of cervical lymph node metastasis is an important prognostic factor for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Accurate assessment of lymph node metastasis in these patients is essential for appropriate prognostic and management purposes. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of the maximum standardized...

Background: Nodal metastasis is an important prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This study aimed to determine the average nodal basin yield per level of neck dissection, and to investigate if age, gender, body mass index, tumour size, depth of tumour invasion and p16 status influence nodal yield. Method: A retrospective...

Background: Margins in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are determined by morphological changes assessed via hematoxylin-eosin staining. Physiological changes may not be detected by this technique. The purpose of this study was to determine if a protein biomarker, laminin-332γ2, overexpressed in cancer cells at the invasive front in H...

DNA hypermethylation is reported as a frequent event and prognostic marker in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Methylation has been commonly assessed with non-quantitative methodologies, such as methylation-specific PCR (MSP). We investigated previously reported hypermethylated genes with quantitative methodology in oral tongue squam...

CDKN2A (p16) disruption is reported as a frequent event in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas that confers poor prognosis. We investigated the frequency of different potential mechanisms of CDKN2A inactivation in oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC) and their impact on patient outcome. From a cohort of 153 OTSCC patients, 131 formalin f...

An introduction to the concepts of epigenetics and emergence and the potential impact on clinical practice in HNSCC. Consideration of HPV oropharyngeal SCC as a possible example of these phenomena.

Background. inactivation has been reported to be a frequent event in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas that correlates with worse patient outcome. The differential mechanisms of inactivation in oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC) have been poorly characterised. We sought to determine the frequency of potential mechanisms of inactivati...

Objectives: Novel therapies are required for patients with recurrent or metastatic oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 (FGFR1) amplification frequently occurs in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and represents a novel druggable therapeutic target in this and other malignancies. This study examined th...

Schwannoma of the Palatine Tonsil: A Rare Entity in an Eight Year Old Girl Objective: We present a case of tonsillar schwannoma occurring in the youngest patient described in the English literature. Results: An eight year old girl was found to have a 12 month history of slowly progressive dysphagia and two month history of a rapidly enlarging right...

CO(2) transoral laser surgery and radiotherapy are both recognized as acceptable treatments for early glottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with similar rates of cure. The reasons why some of the patients in our series undergoing laser resection as their primary modality of treatment subsequently underwent radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy will be...

Introduction: Sinonasal intestinal-type adenocarcinoma is a rare malignancy originating most commonly from the ethmoid sinuses. Morphologically, this cancer tends to resemble intestinal adenocarcinoma with immunohistologic staining mirroring what would be expected for a gastrointestinal malignancy. Definitive treatment involves surgical resection o...

Invited presentation discussing the changing epidemiology and aetiology, and the emerging role of epigenetics in head and neck cancer in Australia in 2012

To establish a clinicopathological profile of malignant otitis externa (MOE) in an Australian tertiary referral institution. Retrospective cohort outcomes study. 24 patients were identified with MOE between January 1998 and July 2007. Patients were classified into Radiological Grades I-IV. Laboratory investigations Including C-reactive protein (CRP...

To compare the outcomes obtained in patients undergoing endoscopic stapling of pharyngeal pouches with single versus multiple rows of staples. A retrospective, 10-year review. Review of medical records in 38 patients who underwent endoscopic pharyngeal pouch repair. Patients who underwent stapling with multiple rows had a higher postoperative leak...

The principal endpoints in head and neck cancer are survival with improvement of quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients. Patients treated for head and neck cancer suffer from a number of symptom domains: physical symptoms linked to diet and feeding, communication disorders, pain and their general state of health; psychological symptoms including...

The role of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in salivary gland lesions as a preoperative diagnosis has always been under scrutiny. Several studies have shown that frozen section (FS) is accurate for pathological diagnosis and decision-making during the surgery. This study has been carried out to assess the accuracy of FNA and FS in parotid surgeries. A...

To assess local control of early-stage glottic cancer by laser cordectomy in comparison with previously published external partial laryngectomy series and to determine the relevance of histological margins in glottic cancers excised with laser cordectomy. Retrospective review of laser cordectomy for carcinoma in situ (Tis) and stage T1 glottic canc...

To assess the long-term results of dilatation and our experience with dilatation for assisted ventilation-induced laryngotracheal stenosis. A retrospective study of 32 patients primarily treated with dilatation for assisted ventilation-induced laryngotracheal stenosis between 1977 and 2002. A tertiary care center and university teaching hospital. T...

• Foreign body aspiration remains an important pathology in children. • Management of airway foreign bodies must be undertaken in specialized units with experienced staff and known protocols. • Development and improvement of rigid bronchoscopes, with advances in anaesthesia have increased the efficacy and the safety of removing endotracheal foreign...

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF 1) or von Recklinghausen's disease mainly involves the peripheral nervous system. Vascular involvement of this disease is a recognised feature involving primarily the arterial tree. Venous invasion is rare, but may have serious consequences. A case of an internal jugular vein dissection secondary to neurofibroma invasio...

Concha bullosa, an extensively pneumatized middle turbinate, may obstruct the paranasal sinuses. Messerklinger's partial lateral turbinectomy is commonly used to debulk the concha bullosa, leaving a raw surface with the potential for adhesions. A modified technique of partial lateral turbinectomy is described. A posterior pedicled mucosal flap cove...

Oncocytomas are rare tumours that occur predominantly in the major salivary glands, particularly the parotid of older individuals. We present the exceptionally rare occurrence of an oncocytoma in the post-nasal space and its treatment for the first time via a Le Fort I osteotomy. The potential for local spread to the surrounding skull base makes it...