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Biomedical subjects

F Marzullo

Publications and source records attributed to F Marzullo.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Mammography and morphobiologic characteristics of human breast cancer.

AIMS: A comparative analysis was performed to verify a possible correlation between mammographic features and morphobiologic characteristics of the tumor in a series of 176 invasive primary breast cancer patients. METHODS: Breast cancers were grouped according to mammographic features as follows: tumor mass with spiculated borders; tumor mass with well-circumscribed borders; tumor with density alteration of parenchyma with no clear borders; a cluster of microcalcifications as the only sign of tumor presence; tumor without mammographic abnormality. The tumor tissue biologic characteristics investigated were: hormone receptor content, tumor proliferative activity, DNA content and cytohistologic tumor-grade differentiation. RESULTS: Spiculated tumors showed a significantly higher percentage of estrogen-receptor-positive cases with respect to circumscribed tumors, independently of the patient's menopausal status. Tumors with only microcalcifications were all from premenopausal patients and showed a significantly higher percentage of progesterone-receptor-positive cases (83%). Tumor proliferative activity did not significantly differ in the 5 mammographic breast cancer groups; aneuploidy was less frequent in tumors with spiculated borders than in mammographic types (39% vs 57%; p = 0.05); percentages of G1-G2-G3 tumors did not differ significantly among the mammographic groups considered. CONCLUSIONS: Certain relationships between mammographic features and biologic characteristics could be of potential clinical interest and stimulate more detailed studies on this issue.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Randomised clinical trial of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with node-negative, fast-proliferating breast cancer.

A prospective randomised clinical trial in patients with node-negative, fast-proliferating breast cancer was initiated in January 1990 to verify the feasibility and reliability of a 3H-thymidine (3H-Tdr) autoradiographic assay in a prospective and consecutive series of node-negative patients and the therapeutic effect of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with node-negative breast cancer and high tumour proliferative activity. Node-negative patients with a high 3H-Tdr Labelling Index (3H-Tdr-LI) were randomised to receive either no further treatment or combination chemotherapy consisting of fluorouracil, epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide (FEC) for 6 cycles. The autoradiographic assay was performed in 307 of 317 patients (97%) and was evaluable in 291 of 317 patients (92%). A total of 176 patients with a high 3H-Tdr-LI entered the clinical randomised study: 91 in the FEC arm and 85 in the control arm. Patient groups were fairly well balanced regarding the most important clinical and pathological characteristics. In total, 530 FEC cycles have been administered with an actual dose intensity of 90%. Patients receiving FEC demonstrated leucopenia in 35% of cases, alopecia in 70%, and loss of menses in premenopausal patients in an age-dependent manner. Patients are still being entered into the study.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Metastatic involvement of the stomach secondary to breast carcinoma. A case report.

The Authors describe a case of gastric metastases from breast cancer. The staging procedures in breast cancer do not usually include the endoscopic examination of the gastroenteric tract; nevertheless the complaint of persistent gastric disorders in patients affected by metastatic breast cancers must not be underestimated. In this case the finding of gastric neoplastic involvement led to effective treatment of the above mentioned disorders and consequently to an improvement in the patient's quality of life. Moreover, the evaluation of this clinical case shows that chemotherapeutic treatment of this metastatic localisation does not differ from that of metastases in other sites.

Bone Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

Total circulating B lymphocyte abnormalities in a primary cerebral localization of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a case report.

The authors describe a case of primary central nervous system lymphoma in a 43-year-old male. Interest in this rare form of B-lymphocyte non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is due to its increasing incidence in the last decade, especially in immunodeficient patients. Extraneural involvement was excluded by staging examinations: bilateral bone marrow biopsy from the posterior iliac crest, bipedal lymphography, abdominal CT scan, skeletal, thoracic and gastrointestinal X-rays, spinal puncture, ORL and clinical examination. The peripheral immunologic state was particularly interesting: there was a substantial decrease in total circulating B-lymphocytes at diagnosis (4.4% = 80/mmc; nv 13 +/- 4% = 287 +/- 130/mmc) and a further decrease after 2 and 4 months of therapy (0.16% = 2/mmc). Three months after completion of therapy, the B-lymphocyte level returned to the base level at diagnosis (7% = 88/mmc). At 10 months after diagnosis and 3 months after completion of chemotherapy, the patient is alive and in good health except for the after-effects of a left hemiparesis. The etiologic and possible pathogenic factors are considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Cell kinetics and hormonal receptor status in inflammatory breast carcinoma. Comparison with locally advanced disease.

The biological and prognostic role of hormone receptor status and proliferative activity have been studied in two series of patients affected by inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC, 28 patients) and locally advanced breast cancer (LABC, 50 patients). Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) were measured by dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) method whereas proliferative activity was measured by 3H-thymidine autoradiographic labeling index (LI). The percentages of ER+ and PgR+ cases resulted lower in IBC than in LABC (ER+, 44% versus 64%; PgR+, 30% versus 51%, respectively), pertaining to both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Inflammatory breast carcinoma showed a higher median LI value than LABC (3.5% versus 1.6%; P = 0.006). Regarding clinical aspects, time to progression (TTP) in IBC patients was not affected by hormone receptor status (19 evaluable patients) or by LI (17 evaluable patients); PgR+ status and low LI resulted important for individualizing women with a longer median overall survival (OS). Inflammatory breast carcinoma has been verified to be a heterogeneous biological entity for which hormone receptors and cell kinetics could be useful in identifying patients with different prognoses and therefore candidates for a personalized therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Comparison of CHOP-B vs CEOP-B in 'poor prognosis' non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. A randomized trial.

Sixty consecutive previously untreated patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (intermediate or high grade and/or bulky disease and/or presence of constitutional symptoms), were randomized to receive either CHOP-B or CEOP-B (31 and 29 patients, respectively) to compare the therapeutic activity and toxicity. Complete response was observed in 65% of the patients treated with CHOP-B and 62% with CEOP-B; relapse of the disease occurred, respectively, in 5/20 (25%) and 6/18 (33%) of CR. Relapse-free survival and overall survival at 5 yr resulted in both groups (RFS 68% and 62% and overall survival 62% and 62%, respectively). In addition, increasing the dosage of epirubicin did not result in an increase in the haematologic toxicity or percent of CR. The haematologic toxicity was slightly lower in CEOP-B. The cardiologic monitoring (Eco 2D and EKG-Holter) at 400 mg mq-1 of EDX and ADM did not demonstrate variations in cardiac function in the CEOP-B group, while in the ADM patients the ejection fraction was statistically lower as regards basal values. In conclusion, in our randomized study, substitution of ADM with EDX in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in the CHOP-B regimen, did not decrease the therapeutic activity of the combined chemotherapy, while less toxicity (haematologic and cardiac) was observed. For these reasons, in our opinion, epirubicin can substitute adriamycin in second and third generation regimens for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in which the major drawback for a wider diffusion is the severe toxicity observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Jejunal adenocarcinoma in congenital heterotopic gastric mucosa.

We describe an adenocarcinoma of the jejunum that developed in congenital heterotopic gastric mucosa, a rare event. In our patient, the absence of other intestinal malformation and the presence of gastric glands with variable grades of dysplasia, together with the histological pattern of the tumor, strongly favor the possible origin of the neoplasia from the heterotopic gastric glands, rather than from intestinal ones.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1988

Correlation between ERICA and DCC assay in hormone receptor assessment of human breast cancer.

To study the basic relationships between estrogen receptor immunocytochemical assay (ERICA) and dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) techniques, 116 women affected by breast cancer were admitted to the study from June 1985. In 56% of cases the tumor sample came from patients with operable disease and in 44% from patients with advanced inoperable disease. We found an overall agreement of 80% between the two methods characterized by a high sensitivity (95%) and a low specificity of ERICA versus DCC. ER/ICA negative results were found in 20 out of 78 ER/DCC positive cases; on the contrary, discordant results were found in only 3 out of 38 cases described by DCC as ER negative. 29 patients with advanced disease and ER/DCC positive tumors were considered for clinical analysis and reliability of each hormone receptor assay. A clinical response was reached in 69% of ER/DCC positive patients and on 64% of ER/ICA positive ones (16/25). However, it must be noted that 4/29 cases described as negative by ERICA were clinically responsive to hormone therapy.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1986

Chemotherapy and surgery in the treatment of ovarian cancer bulky disease.

Thirty-six patients with stage III-IV ovarian cancer, bulky disease, were treated with adriamycin and cyclophosphamide administered in two different dosages. Three or four cycles of chemotherapy were administered before the first surgery to facilitate the surgical debulking. After surgery, 6 additional cycles of chemotherapy were administered, and a second look was performed. Clinical CR + PR was observed in 19/30 (63%) evaluable patients after the first part of chemotherapy, but pathologic CR + PR was confirmed in only 13 (43%) patients. After the second part of chemotherapy and the second surgery, 5/30 (17%) patients had pathologic CR and 3/30 (10%) showed residual disease. The two regimens demonstrated similar activity (67% vs 56% clinical CR + PR) but a very different toxicity. In fact, 50% of patients treated with higher doses showed severe leukopenia and 25% severe thrombocytopenia, and 2/13 died of sepsis. The significant activity of adriamycin plus cyclophosphamide in ovarian cancer was confirmed, and increasing the dosage of the two drugs did not increase their activity but only their toxicity.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum activity in bidimensionally measurable metastatic lesions of bladder carcinoma.

Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP) was administered i.v., at the dosage of 20 mg/m2 for 5 consecutive days and recycled every 3 weeks, to 11 patients with bidimensionally measurable metastatic lesions from bladder cancer previously untreated with antineoplastic drugs. Eight patients (6 men and 2 women) were evaluated for clinical response and 9 for toxicity. No complete regression was observed, and partial regression was obtained only in 3 patients (37.5%). Severe leukopenia and thrombocytopenia occurred only occasionally; moderate nausea and vomiting were observed in 5 cases. Nephrotoxicity was noted in 4 of the 9 patients evaluable for toxicity, and 2 of them, with ureteral obstruction, died of renal failure.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Immunological and bacteriological studies in chronic pyelonephritis associated with kidney stones.

Histological and immunofluorescent techniques, urine, stone and renal fragment culture, demonstration of bacteria with fluorescent specific antisera in the renal tissue and determination of circulating antiGBM and antiTBM antibodies in the serum, were studied on the renal biopsies of 46 patients with chronic pyelonephritis (CPN) associated to kidney stones. Results show that the bacteria are often present in renal tissue of CPN with negative urine culture. The presence of C3 and C4 in some cases, and C3 and C3PA in others, at the tubular level associated with bacteria, suggest that the activation of the C system may be through the classic way, i.e., through the bacteriological immune complexes, or the alternate pathway, i.e., through the bacteria or their products. In conclusion, the evolution of the CPN may be related to the activation of the C system and the coagulation mechanism, as shown by frequent fibrinogen deposits.

Adolescent↗