ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Triological Society New Fellow Thesis Award Winners

by Lara Pullen • July 10, 2016

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

Harris P. Mosher Award

Giovana R. Thomas, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of Miami in Florida, was awarded the Mosher Award in recognition of her thesis in clinical research, “Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Induced Oropharyngeal Cancer in Hispanics in the U.S.: Differences in Clinical Presentation and Survival Outcomes.”

You Might Also Like

  • How to Write the Triological Society Thesis
  • SM14: Triological Society Honors H. Bryan Neel with Patrick E. Brookhouser Award
  • Triological Society Names Winners of Mosher, Fowler Awards
  • SM13: Triological Society Honors Gerald Healy with Patrick E. Brookhouser Award
Explore This Issue
July 2016

Dr. Thomas’ study is the first to describe the clinical details of Hispanic patients with HPV-induced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Giovana R. Thomas, MD and TRIO President Fred Owens, MD

Giovana R. Thomas, MD and TRIO President Fred Owens, MD

The incidence of HPV-induced OPSCC is increasing at an epidemic rate. Specifically, in the years 1988-2004, incidence of the disease increased by 225%. Likewise, research on the subject has increased, leading to a greater understanding of what Dr. Thomas described as a new and peculiar disease. In general, patients with HPV-induced OPSCC are middle-aged Caucasian men who are, more often than not, professionals with a history of multiple sexual partners. Thankfully, HPV-related OPSCC carries a favorable survival rate.

Most research on HPV-induced OPSCC, however, has focused on non-Hispanic whites, overlooking the Hispanic population, which is already the nation’s largest minority group, with 42 million individuals in 2005. Moreover, the Hispanic population is expected to triple in size by the year 2050. Dr. Thomas described the need to offer this growing population the best possible care. In order to help achieve this goal, she and her colleagues sought to determine disparities in survival outcome and clinical presentation between Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites. As physicians at the University of Miami Hospital, they took advantage of the fact that Miami has a very large Hispanic population, using the Hospital Tumor Registry Database to identify patients with OPSCC who presented between 2008 and 2014. The researchers identified 237 patients with OPSCC with well-documented HPV and/or p16 positive status. Of these, 167 were non-Hispanic whites and 70 were Hispanic. The demographics of the two groups were otherwise similar.

The patients had a mean age of 59 years. The majority of patients (84%) presented in advanced stages, and the majority (66%) had past or current history of alcohol use. The overall death rate in the study was 10%, and Dr. Thomas and colleagues found no significant difference between the Kaplan-Meier survival curves of non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics. Age was the only factor that had a significant effect on outcome, and this effect was similar in both groups.

Dr. Thomas did, however, identify some statistically significant differences between the groups in their presentation of disease. Specifically, 70% of Hispanic patients presented with primary disease, compared to 56% of non-Hispanic whites. Additionally, women represented a statistically significant larger proportion of HPV-positive Hispanic patients (26%) as compared with non-Hispanic whites (9%). Thus, the differences between the two groups were in the increased representation of women in the Hispanic group and the increased likelihood of primary disease in the tonsil region in the Hispanic group.

Edmund Prince Fowler Award

Paul Hong, MD, associate professor in the division of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was awarded the inaugural Maureen Hannley Award for his thesis, “Parental Decision Making in Pediatric Otoplasty: The Role of Shared Decision Making in Parental Decisional Conflict and Decisional Regret.”

The Maureen Hannley Thesis Award was established this year to honor Dr. Hannley’s legacy and contributions to the Triological Society. As the diversity of the academic and scientific work of the otolaryngology community evolved, Dr. Hannley acknowledged the importance of alternative scholastic contributions to the society, those that fall outside the traditional realms of basic and clinical research. The award will be presented annually to a candidate whose thesis represents an outstanding contribution in the alternative science category of technology/procedure development, otolaryngology status and trends, health services research, or historical perspectives.

Paul Hong, MD

Paul Hong, MD

As the first recipient of the Hannley Award, Dr. Hong gave a special acknowledgement to Dr. Hannley, who provided feedback on his thesis.

He defined shared decision making as the process by which the provider and patient work together and share information. Shared decision making is especially important in situations with more than one treatment option, “preference-sensitive” conditions, and/or little evidence to support one choice over another. In an acknowledgment of the large variation in medical practice, shared decision making allows for the incorporation of patient values and preferences into the medical conversation. Not surprisingly, shared decision making is emerging as an area of research associated with measures of quality and patient-centered care.

Dr. Hong explained that some physicians are reluctant to engage in shared decision making. Often, these physicians justify their stance by asserting that patients are not interested in decision making. Dr. Hong proposed an alternative possibility: Many physicians do a poor job of identifying patient preferences.

His study included 65 consecutive patients who completed the decisional conflict scale (DCS), which reflected their uncertainty about the decision of whether or not their child should have surgery. Dr. Hong reported that 33% of patients scored 25 or higher on the DCS, indicating that they were experiencing significant decisional conflict. Further analysis of the population revealed that parents who believed they were engaged in the decision making had lower levels of decisional conflict, as well as less decisional regret.

Thus, shared decision making not only benefits the patient, but it may also strengthen health systems by improving quality of care and increasing patient satisfaction. While the results of the study are intriguing, there are still many unanswered questions in the field of shared decision making. For example: Which interventions are most likely to increase parents’ involvement in decision making? Is it possible to quantify the effects of significant decisional conflict and decision regret on health outcomes?

As these questions are answered, physicians will need to increase their focus on the patient so that the patient feels included in the discussion. After all, shared decision making is at the core of ethical, patient-centered care, which is the heart of the Triological Society.


Lara Pullen is a freelance medical writer based in Illinois.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Multi-Page

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Mosher Award, Triological Society annual meetingIssue: July 2016

You Might Also Like:

  • How to Write the Triological Society Thesis
  • SM14: Triological Society Honors H. Bryan Neel with Patrick E. Brookhouser Award
  • Triological Society Names Winners of Mosher, Fowler Awards
  • SM13: Triological Society Honors Gerald Healy with Patrick E. Brookhouser Award

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Weaning Patients Off of PPIs
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Did You Receive COVID-19 Relief? Here Are Reporting Considerations for 2021
    • Otolaryngology Experts Share Best Practices in Five Areas
    • How Climate Change May Be Affecting Sleep Patterns for Adults and Children
    • Laryngologists Discuss Tough Tracheostomy Choices During COVID-19 Era
    • Head and Neck Cancer: Experts Discuss How to Improve Surgery Quality and Value

Polls

Did you receive funding from the CARES Act or Paycheck Protection Program?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.