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Biomedical subjects

G Abate

Publications and source records attributed to G Abate.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Prognostic relevance of urinary neopterin in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Neopterin excretion levels were assessed in 66 consecutive patients affected by non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). The logarithm of the mean value of the whole series was 2.71 (log [mumol neopterin/mol creatinine]), significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than the control value (2.12). Fifty-six of 66 patients had a raised excretion of neopterin in amounts statistically related to the stage of disease. The mean value (2.51) of patients in Stages I-II was lower than the mean value (2.86) of patients in Stage III-IV (P less than 0.001). The 2-year probability of survival was 64% for patients in Stages I-II and 34% for patients in Stages III-IV. However, patients with lower neopterin excretion (less than 2.65) fared better than patients with higher neopterin excretion, regardless of the stage. Longitudinal analysis showed a trend toward a correlation between response to therapy and neopterin excretion. In NHL, the raised neopterin excretion appears to be a consequence of activation of the host immune system rather than a product of the malignant cells. But this excessive activation of the monocytes-macrophages, as reflected by urinary neopterin levels, is not accompanied by a better outcome. In conclusion, although neopterin cannot be considered a typical tumor marker, nevertheless it is an useful prognostic marker in NHL.

Biopterins↗
PubMed1987

Epirubicin in combination chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced stage non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

From April 1981 to May 1984, 23 patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were treated with CEOP (cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) or OEPP (vincristine, epirubicin, procarbazine, and prednisone) combination chemotherapy. CR was achieved in 58% and PR in 31% of the patients, giving an overall response rate of 89%. Nine of 15 (60%) previously untreated patients with unfavorable histology obtained a CR and 5 a PR. Median relapse-free survival was 33 months; median overall survival has not yet been reached, and the probability of survival for CRs was 91% after 54 months of follow-up. Acute toxicity was quite acceptable, and chronic cardiac toxicity was detected in 6 patients only. In conclusion, epirubicin used in combination chemotherapies induced durable remissions and prolonged survivals in advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Urinary neopterin levels in hematologic malignancies.

We studied urinary excretion levels of neopterin in 30 cancer patients affected by non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease and multiple myeloma compared to 30 healthy subjects. Mean value of neopterin excretion in cancer patients (576.01 +/- 620.37) appeared significantly increased (p less than 0.001) compared to normal controls (134.40 +/- 41.65). A neopterin excretion above the upper normal limit was observed in 23/28 (82%) patients with active disease. A trend to an increased urinary level of neopterin with more advanced stage was observed, namely in patients with bone marrow involvement and constitutional symptoms. We suggest that the evaluation of urinary neopterin levels may be of value in the diagnosis and follow-up of hematologic malignancies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Immunological abnormalities in patients with cervical carcinoma.

The cellular immune response of 58 patients affected by cervical cancer was evaluated with the aim of investigating abnormalities in T-cell populations. Subjects were divided into three groups: severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ, microinvasive carcinoma, and invasive carcinoma. T cells were assessed by a spontaneous rosette formation test with sheep red blood cells and by reactivity with specific monoclonal antibodies of OKT series (OKT4 and OKT8 positive lymphocytes). A significant T-cell depression was observed in all patient groups; the lowest T-cell level was observed in group (b), which revealed an inverted OKT4+/OKT8+ ratio too. The results support the hypothesis that cell-mediated immunity is a key factor in premalignant status and in the early development of cervical cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Short-term antibiotic therapy with clindamycin phosphate in patients with malignant epithelial tumors: an immunological evaluation.

The authors evaluated the results of a study using clindamycin phosphate plus gentamicin in short-term therapy in patients with tumors submitted to surgery for removal of the primary lesion. Only 6.6% of these patients became infected, and these good results are most likely due to the synergic activity of clindamycin with the physiological immune response. This agent, in fact, was able to interfere with IgM/IgA immunoregulatory balance by enhancing IgM production and, consequently, phagocytic mechanisms.

Clindamycin↗
PubMed1983

Influence on response to therapy and overall survival of mediastinal involvement by Hodgkin's disease.

To assess the prognostic significance of mediastinal involvement of Hodgkin's disease, 91 patients with stage I to III disease treated at our Institute were reclassified according to size of mediastinal disease and other clinical and therapeutic characteristics. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 46 of 67 (81%) patients without mediastinal involvement, and in 16 of 17 (94%) patients with small mediastinal masses, but only in 10 of 17 (59%) patients with large masses (P less than 0.05). Twenty-seven of 32 (84%) patients treated with irradiation alone and 26 of 28 (93%) patients treated with combined modality therapy reached a CR, whereas such a result was obtained only in 19 of 31 (61%) patients who received MOPP chemotherapy alone (P less than 0.01). In particular, none of the patients with large masses had a CR when treated with chemotherapy alone, whereas no differences in response to therapy were found between patients with large vs. small or no masses when irradiation or combined treatments were utilized. Since combined treatment seems to reach a high proportion of CR and to prevent extranodal relapse, further randomized clinical trials are needed to decide its routine utilization in patients with poor prognostic factors such as large mediastinal adenopathies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Combination chemotherapy (CVP or CHOP)- radiotherapy approach in early stage non-Hodgkins's lymphomas.

From January 1978 to December 1980, 42 patients with early stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma other than of the gastrointestinal tract were treated with radiotherapy and combination chemotherapy. Eighteen patients in stage I were submitted to locally extended-field radiotherapy up to a mean dose of 48 Gy with a Co60 source and, after a 3-week rest period, to 6 cycles of combination chemotherapy. Twenty-four patients in stage II received 3 cycles of combination chemotherapy before and after irradiation, the same as for stage I. Combination chemotherapy consisted of cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisone (CVP) for 15 cases with favorable histology (3 NWDL, 1 NPDI, 11 DWDL), whereas it included cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOP) for 27 cases with unfavorable histology (20 DPDL, 3 DM, 4 DH). Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 35/42 (83%) patients, with a highly significant difference between stage I (100%) and stage II (71%). After 42 months of follow-up, the probability of survival for all patients was 72%. Survival was better for stage I (88%) than for stage II (68%) and for favorable histology (87%) as compared to unfavorable histology (70%). Furthermore, survival was highly influenced by response to therapy. Indeed, actuarial survival rate for CR was 91% as compared to a median survival time of 10.2 months for the remaining patients. Four patients, all with poor histology, relapsed after 5-24 (mean 11) months of CR. Only one of them had an extension in extranodal sites and eventually died, despite the salvage treatment utilized. In our experience, locally extended-field irradiation combined with chemotherapy gave a high proportion of CR and seemed to prevent relapses, particularly in extranodal site.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1980

Combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOP) for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with unfavorable histology: preliminary results.

From January 1978 to June 1979, 29 selected, previously untreated patients with unfavorable histology of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (12 DPDL, 7 DM, 9 DH and 1 DU) were submitted to the combination chemotherapy CHOP (cyclophosphamide, 750 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1; adriamycin, 50 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1; vincristine, 1.4 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, and prednisone, 100 mg p.o. on day 1 through 5) every 21 days. Eighteen patients were in early stage (I or II) and 11 of them were also submitted to involved field radiotherapy (60Co), immediately before (stage I) or during (stage II) the chemotherapy, with a mean dosage of 4,500 rad. The remaining 11 patients were in advanced stage (III or IV) of disease and were treated with chemotherapy alone. We obtained 20 complete remissions (68%), 8 partial remissions (28%) and 1 no response (4%) to therapy. Sixteen of 18 patients (89%) in early stages and 4 of 11 patients (36%) in advanced stages achieved a complete remission. The bone marrow toxicity of the chemotherapy was moderate. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea were frequent but well controlled by the support therapy. The actuarial survival rate of patients, after 18 months of follow-up, is 41% (40% in complete remission). The patients who achieved a complete remission are alive and 65% of them still relapse free. We believe that the combination chemotherapy CHOP improves the complete remission rate as well as the survival of patients with unfavorable histology of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Adult↗