Dr. Luetje, in his remarks, recalled meeting Dr. Brookhouser—for whom the award is named—at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio in the early 1970s, and following his career after that. “To be recognized by your colleagues is the very best thing that can happen to you,” he said. “Thank you very much for this award. It is deeply appreciated, and means the world to me.”
Otolaryngologists Gather to Exchange Big Ideas in New Orleans
2016 Fowler Award for trio thesis
Gregory Grillone, MD
Gregory Grillone, MD, an associate professor and vice chairman of otolaryngology and residency program director at Boston University, was awarded the Fowler Award for best thesis in basic science.
In his research, Dr. Grillone found that elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS) with a portable device is effective at distinguishing, in real time, between normal mucosa and invasive cancer. Drawing from 34 patients undergoing resection for squamous cell carcinoma in the oral cavity, ESS distinguished normal from abnormal tissue with a sensitivity of 84% to 100% and a specificity of 71% to 89%, depending on how normal versus abnormal tissue was defined.
“This is the first study to evaluate the usefulness of ESS in guiding resection margins in oral cavity cancer,” Dr. Grillone said. “ESS appears to be effective in distinguishing between normal mucosa and invasive cancer regardless of whether there’s inflammation or not, and between normal and abnormal, such as severe dysplasia and CIS [carcinoma in situ], which may require further resection. Further studies are needed, with larger sample size, to validate these findings.”