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Biomedical subjects

E Alba

Publications and source records attributed to E Alba.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Anticipatory nausea and vomiting: prevalence and predictors in chemotherapy patients.

One hundred and seventy-five patients selected at random were prospectively studied. All patients were assessed at least after the first cycle of treatment by a self-report questionnaire which covered the occurrence of nausea and vomiting 24 before chemotherapy, as well as information regarding 22 clinical parameters. Forty-six (26%) patients developed anticipatory nausea. 'Intolerable' posttreatment vomiting and age under 45 were statistically significant parameters (p less than 0.05) in the multivariate analysis. Twenty-one (12%) of the 175 patients experienced anticipatory vomiting. Three variables, age under 45, 'intolerable' posttreatment vomiting and more than three cycles of treatment were found to be significant (p less than 0.05). The relative risk of developing anticipatory nausea and vomiting according to combination of significant clinical predictors in the multivariate analysis is proposed. Therefore recognition of these clinical predictors may serve as a marker for patients with high risk of presenting anticipatory nausea and vomiting, who may benefit from prophylactic behavioral approaches.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Hodgkin's disease associated with infection by human immunodeficiency virus].

We present four patients with Hodgkin's disease and human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV). Three patients were addicts to parenteral drugs. The disease was very advanced at the time of diagnosis, stage IVB in all cases. Histologic types were mixed cellularity in two cases, nodular sclerosis in one case and it was not typifiable in the remaining case. The disturbances of cell-mediated immunity that the patients presented were those of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as well as the infectious complications. Response to treatment was poor with a high incidence of bone marrow toxicity; three patients died during the first 3 months after the diagnosis (X = 7.3 months). We emphasize the necessity of considering different prognostic and therapeutic approaches for the HD in these patients in contrast with those of seronegative patients. We pose some questions suggested by the review of the literature and the data of this series.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Cisplatin and intravenous continuous infusion of bleomycin in advanced and metastatic esophageal cancer.

Thirty-four patients with locally advanced or metastatic esophageal cancer were treated with cisplatin 35 mg/m2/day x 3 days in bolus, plus bleomycin 15 mg/day x 3 days, as an 18 h infusion, every 21-28 days. Twenty-nine are evaluable for response. Objective response was seen in 15 (52%, 95% confidence limits 35-69%) patients. Toxicity was mild. Twelve patients with locoregional disease were treated with this combination followed by radiotherapy and three of them are alive without disease at 18, 22 and 36 months. This combination warrants further study in the setting of combined treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Follow-up of breast cancer stages I and II. An analysis of some common methods.

A retrospective analysis of the follow-up methodology was done in 343 cases of breast cancer Stages I and II, in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the explorations performed and the usefulness of the follow-up program. The actuarial probability of relapse at 6 years was 35% for the 237 patients with negative axillary nodes and 46% for the 106 patients with nodal involvement. Fifty-eight per cent of the relapses were detected by the patients themselves, 24% of relapses were found by physical examination and 9% of relapses were discovered in chest radiographs, leading to 91% of relapses diagnosed by combination of these explorations. The authors conclude that follow-up methodology for these patients could be limited to the above-mentioned methods, without significant reduction of curability or survival possibilities after relapse.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1986

Carboplatin, an active drug in advanced head and neck cancer.

Because of the clinical activity of carboplatin in several types of tumors, this drug was studied in a phase II trial of 25 patients with advanced head and neck cancer [stage IV (M0)] without prior treatment. Six patients (24%) achieved objective response, including two patients with complete response. Carboplatin toxicity was mild in most patients, with nausea, vomiting, and myelosuppression being the most frequent side effects. No renal or neurologic toxicity was observed. Further trials of carboplatin in advanced head and neck cancer are warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[The psycho-affective behavior of pregnant women].

The puerperal condition represents a quite new, physiological trial that every woman approaches, from a psycho-affective point of view, with her own cultural, cognitive and behavioural experiences. The strict individuality of these experiences makes the new affective maternal-foetal balances extremely unstable. It is suggested to establish the more common psycho-affective reactions of the pregnant woman by analysing the answers to a questionary proposed to 696 puerperae at the 2nd Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic, University of Turin, in the period january-september 1982. The main datum consists in the need of serenity during pregnancy and labour, that could be gained by means of better physician-patient relation.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1972

A multiple change score comparison of traditional and behavioral college teaching procedures.

Seventy-six students in a college-level course in human development were divided into an experimental and a control group of approximately equal size. Both groups were given a pretest composed of fill-in and multiple-choice items. The control group was exposed to conventional educational practices while the experimental group was treated in a manner similar to that described by Johnston and Pennypacker (1971), performing only on fill-in items. Post-test results showed significantly greater changes in the experimental group, regardless of the type of test item, although the difference was greater in the case of the fill-in items. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for both future research and tactics in the development of improved teaching technologies.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pathologic features of endometrial carcinoma in elderly women.

It has been estimated that more than two-thirds of cancers occur in people over 65 years of age: endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynaecologic cancer in the U.S. and represents the fourth most common malignancy in women. Some authors have reported that EC in elderly women was more aggressive, histologically less-differentiated and often non-endometrioid when compared with EC in the younger population. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the pathologic features of EC in women 70 years old or over compared with those of younger patients. Between 1987 and 1997, 174 patients with EC were surgically treated: 52 women were 70 years old or over. Two-thirds of both groups had surgical Stage I tumors: 54% of surgical Stage I tumors in the elderly had myometrial invasion more than 50% compared with 32% in the younger group (p<0.01). On the whole 37% of elderly patients had Stage IC tumors compared with 21% in younger women (p<0.01). Seventy-five percent of elderly women had Grade 2 or 3 tumors compared with 55% of younger patients (p<0.005). The majority of EC was endometrioid in both groups: 8% of elderly patients had clear-cell carcinomas compared with 4% of younger women (p not significant). No elderly patients showed nodal metastasis (0 out of 10): 9% of younger women had pelvic or para-aortic metastasis. The median follow-up was 78 months. The overall survival in the elderly and in the younger group was 80% and 93%, respectively (p<0.01): in elderly women overall survival significantly varied according to histotype and depth of myometrial invasion in Stage I tumors. In conclusion patients 70 years old or over have a high probability of surgical Stage I EC but a significantly higher probability of deep myometrial invasion and less-differentiated tumors than younger women: the prognosis w as good but poorer than for younger patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Shift in the balance between circulating thrombospondin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in cancer patients: relationship to platelet alpha-granule content and primary activation.

Tumoral angiogenesis is regulated by the balance between factors that activate and inhibit angiogenesis. Elevated levels of activators have been associated with a poor prognosis in cancer patients, but little is known about the net balance between circulating activators and inhibitors in these patients. This study was designed to determine whether the balance between circulating concentrations of the angiogenesis inhibitor TSP-1 and the activator VEGF differs from that in healthy persons, and to shed light on the possible role of platelets in this balance. Twenty-five cancer patients and 18 healthy subjects were included. Serum and plasma concentrations of VEGF, TSP-1 and PF4 were measured by ELISA. Our results showed that in healthy subjects the balance between the TSP-1 and VEGF concentrations in serum and in serum minus plasma was twice to three times as high as in cancer patients (p < 0.05). The theoretical TSP-1 content per platelet was greater in healthy subjects than in patients (94 vs. 53.6 ng/mL, p < 0.05), and platelet activation (determined indirectly as the plasma concentration of PF4) was greater in cancer patients (129 vs. 48 IU/mL, p < 0.01). Platelet activation correlated significantly with serum concentration of TSP-1 (r = 0.470, p = 0.018) and showed a tendency toward correlation with plasma concentration of TSP-1 (r = 0.382, p = 0.059). Our findings show that the circulating TSP-1/VEGF balance is diminished in cancer patients. Platelet activation may play an important role in this decrease and may ultimately lead to increased angiogenic activity in these patients.

Adolescent↗