SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Erlotinib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. A systematic review of phase II/III clinical trials

Zhang et al conducted a systematic literature review of the currently available data on Erlotinib by systematically searching the Cochrane Library database, the World Health Organization trial registry, clinicaltrials.gov, MEDLINE, and EMBASE without language or year restrictions to evaluate and obtain a full overview of the efficacy and safety of erlotinib for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The bibliographies of all eligible articles and related reviews were searched manually to retrieve any additional relevant articles not discovered by electronic searches.

see page 1184

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Safety and efficacy of transthoracic versus transesophageal echocardiography in transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects. Reporting a single center experience from Saudi Arabia

Azhar assesses the safety and effectiveness of transthoracic echocardiography in monitoring transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect (ASD), in comparison with the conventional technique using transesophageal echocardiography by carring out a retrospective review of all cases of transcatheter closure of isolated ostium secundum ASDs operated from 2005 to 2015, at the Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Department, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He discusses the advantages and limitations of the other available options and proposes a decision tree based on morphological and clinical preoperative evaluations

see page 1196

Tall cell variant papillary thyroid carcinoma in Saudi patients. A clinicopathological and outcomes analysis

Al-Qahtani et al evaluate the clinicopathological features and treatment outcomes of papillary thyroid carcinoma tall cell variant (PTC-TCV) in Saudi population. They investigated the demographic symptoms, histopathological features, and treatment outcomes of locoregional control, distant metastasis control, disease free survival, and overall survival rates from the medical records of 776 treated PTC patients between December 2007 and 2015, at King Fahad Medical City and King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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Whole body scintigraphy showing iodine avid bilateral lungs, neck, and right femur uptake.

see page 1220

CASE REPORT

Rapid-onset obesity, hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation, and autonomic dysregulation in Saudi Arabia

Al-Harbi et al aim to raise the awareness of rapid-onset obesity, hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation, and autonomic dysregulation and its manifestations in Saudi Arabia, as well as highlight the clinical features and importance of early diagnosis and management as it mimics many other diseases and may take a few years after the onset of rapid obesity to have the other clinical features.

see page 1258