Intracranial imaging is vital to the initial evaluation, staging and treatment planning, and posttreatment follow-up of brain tumor patients. The modalities used to evaluate the brain are CT and MRI. A familiarity with basic radiologic concepts can enable a provider to better translate the intracranial process to clinical care. This chapter is intended to give the clinician a baseline for interpreting images independently in either the acute or chronic setting. Imaging of the brain using CT and MRI techniques is essential to the evaluation of patients with intracranial malignancy, both in the acute and chronic setting. Knowledge of basic imaging principles related to the presence of an intracranial mass and familiarity with findings unique to certain malignancies are useful tools for the clinician. These skills can be built over time by reviewing patient images independently, utilizing the kinds of fundamentals discussed in this chapter.

Interventional pain procedures are an adjunct to pharmacologic therapy for cancer pain. While pain at the location of the tumor might be the primary cause of pain, cancer patients may also have non-cancer related pain as a result of altered anatomy or biomechanics, for example, myofascial pain. Myofascial pain is pain or autonomic phenomena referred from active trigger points in the muscles, fascia, and tendons. This chapter discusses about the therapies for muscular pain which includes the trigger point, botulinum toxin, acupuncture, therapies for peripheral nerve mediated pain, local blockade, ultrasound guided procedures, sympathetic blocks, complex regional pain syndrome, spinal procedures, epidural steroid injections, neuromodulation, vertebral procedures and facet arthropathy. Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty not only have been studied most extensively in stabilizing compression fractures from osteoporosis, but have also been used to treat fractures resulting from osteolytic metastasis, myeloma, vertebral osteonecrosis, and hemangioma.

Involvement of neural plexus structures in a patient with cancer may result from direct invasion by tumors originating within nerve tissue, local metastatic extension or distant spread from diseased organs, or compression by adjacent tumor masses. The function of the neural components may also be severely affected by sequelae or complications of surgical intervention or radiation therapy. Clinical history may suggest a possible etiology; however, physical examination may be of limited value in evaluation of plexopathy depending on the structure affected. Conventional radiologic methods are usually nonrevealing, although they may be helpful in advanced disease. As new techniques are introduced, improved resolution and ability to analyze chemical composition of tissues advanced MRI to the method of choice in diagnosis and assessment of treatment response in patients with plexopathy. This chapter discusses the role of conventional and new modalities in evaluation of plexus disease, including indications, current techniques, advantages, and pitfalls.

Gastrointestinal (GI) complications of cancer are significant and can be challenging to manage. Dysphagia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fecal impaction, bowel obstruction, and infections are just a few of the adverse effects experienced by the cancer patient. This chapter discusses the current strategies for diagnosis and treatment. The treatment of cancer with chemotherapy agents, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy has dramatically improved the prognosis and survival of many patients diagnosed with cancer. However, these interventions may cause significant GI side effects that can limit tolerability of treatment. The prevention and treatment strategies often utilize a combined pharmacological approach and target the receptors located in the chemoreceptor trigger zone and periphery. Cancer rehabilitation includes vigilant monitoring for GI complications of cancer. GI complications resulting from cancer treatment are variable in presentation and often multifactorial. Proper diagnosis of treatment related symptoms and more serious sequelae are imperative.

This chapter provides a brief description on evaluation and treatment of lung and bronchus cancer. An estimated 234,030 cases of lung cancer will occur in 2018, accompanied by an estimated 155,870 deaths from the disease. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men and women but is the leading cause of cancer mortality in both. This chapter discusses epidemiology, pathology, screening, diagnosis, and prevention of lung cancer. Paraneoplastic syndromes are a combination of symptoms produced by substances formed by the tumor or produced by the body in response to the tumor. Lung carcinoma is a pathologically heterogeneous tumor. The most important distinction is between small cell carcinoma and non-small cell carcinoma. Treatment for early-stage disease usually involves one or more modalities of treatment, which include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Patients with advanced disease are treated with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy.

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer among women in the United States, with approximately 260,000 new cases of breast cancer and more than 40,000 breast cancer related deaths anticipated in 2018. Fortunately, an improved understanding of the importance of tumor biology has led to significant advances in the management of breast cancer in both the adjuvant and metastatic settings, as well as an improvement in patient morbidity and breast cancer specific survival. When an abnormality is detected on screening, breast cancer diagnosis and management typically require a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates some combination of radiology, surgery, pathology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and/or specialists in rehabilitation. This chapter provides an overview of the principles of using systemic therapy (i.e., medications that are absorbed and carried throughout the bloodstream, such as chemotherapy and endocrine therapy) for the management of breast cancer.

Melanoma has traditionally been a challenging disease to manage due to a lack of effective therapies for advanced disease. Fortunately, recent advances in our understanding of the molecular pathways underlying melanoma pathogenesis and of tumor immunology have led to unprecedented advances in targeted and immunological therapies that have dramatically improved patient outcomes. This chapter serves as a practical guide for the nononcologist and provides updated information on the epidemiology, prevention, staging, biology, and management of melanoma. The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted agents has dramatically improved survival for patients with advanced melanoma. Novel immune checkpoint molecules such as CD40, CD137, OX40, and LAG-3, are already under investigation in early phase I studies. With a growing number of treatment options, continued efforts to find the optimal combination and sequence of therapies will be important.

Head and neck cancer is a group of cancers that are linked by a shared anatomical space. The anatomical space includes structures that are critical for speech, swallowing, breathing, vision, and hearing. It has long been recognized that head and neck cancer and its therapy adversely impact function. Rehabilitation in the head and neck cancer population is often challenging: it requires the coordinated care of experienced clinicians spanning a wide array of specialties. This chapter begins with a discussion of the socioeconomic considerations that are paramount in treating head and neck cancer patients. This is followed by a broad overview of the epidemiology, etiology, pathology, and staging of head and neck cancers. The chapter then discusses the specific modalities of therapy used in the treatment of head and neck cancer with an emphasis on the associated toxicities. Finally, it discusses site-specific considerations that impact functional outcomes.

Rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord dysfunction (SCDys) in the cancer setting is defined as a process that relieves distressing symptoms related to the cancer or SCDys. It assists the person to achieve the maximal physical, functional, social, and psychological abilities within the limits of the SCDys, the cancer, its treatments, and prognosis. Cancer-related SCD can result from spinal cord compression due to epidural, intramedullary, or leptomeningeal tumor; as a consequence of radiation therapy; or from iatrogenic causes such as infection or hematoma. MRI is the investigation of choice when suspecting a tumor causing spinal cord compression. Radiotherapy is now well established as routine treatment for many primary and secondary spinal cord tumors, and often used in conjunction with surgery. This chapter discusses rehabilitation therapies such as compensatory mobility techniques and therapeutic exercise to improve quality of life, performance of activities of daily living, and prevent complications related to immobility.

This chapter delves into some of the frequently encountered cancers in childhood, their incidence, and common presenting features from a rehabilitation practitioner’s point of view. It highlights the multimodality approach in treatment for various types of pediatric cancer. Pediatric cancer is fairly rare compared to cancer in adults. There has been a remarkable progress in the outcomes for cancer in childhood overall, over the past half-century. One of the key determinants for this success has been a collaborative effort by pediatric oncologists all over the world in enrolling majority of the patients in cooperative group studies. With improved survival, there have been efforts to decrease the intensity of treatment to curtail some of the long-term effects in low-risk cancers. Recently, there has been explosive growth in genomic information that led to a better understanding of various subtypes, revised classifications, and therapeutic strategies for various cancers.