Encephalopathy associated with carcinoma.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Cowen.
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Headache is a common emergency department complaint and has a broad differential diagnosis. Most commonly the headache is without serious underlying cause, but occasionally can be the manifestation of a more catastrophic illness. History may be the most important aspect in the evaluation of headache patients and careful attention to historical clues or atypical symptoms may point to a diagnosis. We present a patient with a first-time headache, which was ultimately found to be secondary to a carotid cavernous fistula. Historical features that require a more aggressive work-up of headache are discussed.
PURPOSE: In patients with early cervix carcinoma, both radiotherapy and surgery or combined modalities provide effective therapies. In the two last modalities, recommended surgery is radical hysterectomy. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the value of a limited vaginal hysterectomy after brachytherapy in patients without any unfavorable prognostic factor. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-two patients (stage Ia2 with vascular invasion: three patients, stage Ib 1:19 patients) with 1 cm median maximal tumor size and with previous negative laparoscopic lymphadenectomy (median number of lymph nodes: 12) underwent a limited vaginal hysterectomy 6 weeks after utero-vaginal brachytherapy. RESULTS: Two mild intra-operative complications were noted. Venous hemorrhage (100 mL) occurred in one patient during lymphadenectomy and another patient presented bladder injury during hysterectomy. These two complications were successfully controlled with no need for laparotomy. Only one late complication was observed: bladder grade G2 (b). With a 29 months follow-up (20-48 months), no recurrence was reported. CONCLUSION: These results appear promising in patients with very early cervix carcinoma but remain to be confirmed on a larger scale.
AIMS OF THE STUDY: To determine the risk factors for local and distant failure in node-negative breast cancer treated with breast-conservative surgery and radiotherapy and to determine the relationship between these two events. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively selected 908 patients who received conservative surgery and radiotherapy but no chemotherapy between 1980 and 1995, for a node-negative breast cancer. Patients were divided in two groups according to the status of the margins of resection. All pathology specimens were reviewed. RESULTS: In case of negative margins, the risk factors for local recurrences picked up by the Cox model were histologic multifocality (P = 0.0076), peritumoral vessel invasion (P = 0.021) and age < or = 40 years (P = 0.024), and in case of involved margins, negative oestrogen receptors (P = 0.0012), histologic multifocality (P = 0.0028), and absence of hormonal therapy (P = 0.017). The 10-year local recurrence rate was 18% in case of negative margins and 29% in case of involved margins, although in the latter case patients received high-dose adjuvant radiotherapy. Accordingly, the 10-year distant failure rates were 16% and 27%, respectively. Many arguments suggest that local and distant failures are closely related. CONCLUSION: Patients with histologic multifocality or positive margins are at high risk of local failure and then of distant failure, and require a more aggressive initial treatment.
The use of radiotherapy in advanced stages of Hodgkin's disease remains controversial. The rationale for its use is based on efficacy at all stages of the disease as well as in patients with recurrent disease, but also on the topography of the recurrences after exclusive chemotherapy (which occur at non irradiated sites in 75% of cases), and on its ability to improve relapse rates as shown in many randomized trials. Unfortunately, this improvement does not translate into higher survival rates because of the increased late morbidity and an inadequate selection of patients who might benefit from irradiation. The benefits of radiotherapy are probably the highest in stage III rather than IV, in patients with scleronodular disease, and in those with mediastinal involvement experiencing a complete response to radiotherapy. A better survival should be observed with the shift towards a decrease of the doses delivered, an improvement of the quality of the irradiation, and a better definition of the volumes to be treated in association with the use of optimal chemotherapies.
One hundred and sixty-two breast carcinomas treated by adjuvant chemotherapy were investigated in immunohistochemistry for expression of p53 and two wild-type p53-regulated induced proteins, mdm2 and p21/waf1. p21 and mdm2 were expression stongly correlated with Ki67 but not with survival. The p53+/p21+, p53+/p21- and p53+/mdm2- phenotypes were associated with the worst prognosis. The p53+/p21+/ mdm2+ tumors were associated with a better outcome than the other phenotypes, they may be tumors expressing wild-type p53 and p21, and a form of mdm2 that might lead to the stabilization of p53. It is suggested that p21/mdm2 expression should be investigated in all cases of p53 positive breast cancer.
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BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of peritumoral vascular invasion (PVI) in node negative breast cancer (N-) is a controversial issue. Considerable debate has focused on how PVI should be defined, and the techniques used to detect them have differed considerably from one study to another. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In our study, 167 cases of N- breast cancers were reviewed, with a view to determining whether or not PVI, as defined in the recently published European recommendations, were present. RESULTS: Based on the results of the subsequent statistical study, the presence of PVI was not found to constitute a reliable prognostic index to the outcome of N- breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Referring each case to the data available in the literature, the difficulties encountered when searching for PVI of this kind are described, the results of various studies on the topic are reviewed and whether it is worth pursuing studies along these lines is discussed.
We evaluated the feasibility of administering, in an out-patient setting, a sequential high dose alkylating regimen with hematopoietic growth factor (HGF) and stem cell support to patients with advanced breast cancer. Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) were previously collected after chemotherapy and HGF. Two consecutive cycles of alkylating agents were planned: Thiotepa (T) then, 15 days later, BCNU (B). Three dose levels of each agent were administered in cohorts of consecutive patients: 400, 500 and 600 mg/m2 respectively. HGF and reinfusion of PBSC followed both cycles. Toxicity and response were evaluated according to the WHO recommendations. From April 1996 to August 1988, 30 women were enrolled: 8 in the first, 12 in the second and 10 in the third dose level. In all cases, B was administered after T with a median delay of 25 days because of grade 3/4 hematological toxicity. 4 patients did not receive B because of previous lung radiotherapy, persistent tricytopenia or insufficient PBSC collection. 19 patients with measurable lesions were considered for response. The objective response rate was 48% (11% CR, 37% PR). We recommended T and B at a dose of 600 mg/m2 to conduct a phase II study in metastatic breast cancer and even to administer B before T.