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G Bacci

Publications and source records attributed to G Bacci.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Prognostic factors in nonmetastatic Ewing's sarcoma of bone treated with adjuvant chemotherapy: analysis of 359 patients at the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli.

PURPOSE: The identification of prognostic factors in patients with nonmetastatic Ewing's sarcoma could allow the use of risk-adapted therapeutic strategies of treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data on 359 patients with nonmetastatic Ewing's sarcoma of bone treated at a single institution between January 1979 and April 1995 were retrospectively considered. The influence of clinical, hematologic, therapeutic, and histologic parameters on event-free survival was assessed. RESULTS: By univariate analysis, the following features were found to be associated with a poor prognosis: male sex (P <.02), age older than 12 years (P <.006), fever (P <.0001), anemia (P <.0025), high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level (P <.0001), axial location (P <.04), radiation therapy only for local control (P <.009), type of chemotherapy regimen (P <.0001), and poor chemotherapy-induced necrosis (P <.001). After multivariate analysis, the adverse independent prognostic factors were male sex (P <.04), age older than 12 years (P <.001), fever (P <.0002), anemia (P <.02), high serum LDH level (P <.0003), axial location (P <.02), and type of chemotherapy regimen (P <.0003). When the multivariate analysis was restricted to surgically treated patients, the adverse independent prognostic factors were poor chemotherapy-induced necrosis (P <.0001), fever (P <.015), anemia (P <.02), and high serum LDH level (P <.025). CONCLUSION: The prognosis in cases of nonmetastatic Ewing's sarcoma is influenced by many different clinical and hematologic variables, all of which are to be considered when patients are being stratified according to the risk of relapse. In surgically treated patients, the most important prognostic factor is chemotherapy-induced necrosis.

Adolescent↗

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for peripheral malignant neuroectodermal tumor of bone: recent experience at the istituto rizzoli.

PURPOSE: The results achieved in 44 patients with nonmetastatic peripheral neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of bone treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy are reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A six-drug regimen of chemotherapy (vincristine, doxorubicin, dactinomycin, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, and etoposide) was administered to all patients. Local treatment consisted of surgery in 20 patients, surgery followed by radiotherapy in 13, and radiotherapy only in 11. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 4.5 years (range, 2 to 7 years), 23 patients (52%) remain event-free, 20 have relapsed (45%), and one has died of chemotherapy-related toxicity. The 5-year event-free survival and overall survival were 54.2% and 62.7%, respectively. To assess the prognostic significance of neural differentiation in the family of Ewing's sarcoma, these results have been compared with the outcomes of 138 concomitant patients with typical Ewing's sarcoma (TES) who were treated according to the same protocol. Of these, 103 (75%) remained continuously event-free, 34 (24%) relapsed, and one died of chemotherapy-related toxicity. It follows that PNET patients treated with this chemotherapy regimen have a significantly worse prognosis than typical ES patients (5-year event-free survival, 54.2% v 70.6%, P <.012; 5-year overall survival, 62.7% v 78.3%, P <.002). CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that studies into new adjuvant therapy for Ewing's sarcoma modulated according to risk of relapse should also consider neural differentiation as a risk factor.

Adolescent↗

Italian Cooperative Study for the treatment of children and young adults with localized Ewing sarcoma of bone: a preliminary report of 6 years of experience.

BACKGROUND: In 1991, the Italian Association for Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and the National Council of Research (CNR) initiated an Italian Cooperative Study (SE 91-CNR Protocol) with the main objective of improving the overall survival (SUR) and the event free survival (EFS) of children and young adults with localized Ewing sarcoma and primitive neuroectodermal tumors of bone compared with a previous study (IOR/Ew2 Protocol). METHODS: Between November 1991 and November 1997, 165 patients were enrolled in this study, 160 of whom were evaluable. The patients were treated with a multimodal approach characterized by intensified chemotherapy, hyperfractionated and accelerated radiation therapy, and the addition of ifosfamide and etoposide to standard chemotherapy with vincristine, actinomycin-D, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 37 months, 126 of the 160 evaluable patients remained free of disease recurrence. Thirty-one patients developed a disease recurrence (20 with disseminated disease). CONCLUSIONS: The 3-year SUR and EFS rates found in the current study (83.6% and 77.8%, respectively) may be considered satisfactory. Only age at diagnosis < or =14 years and a good histologic response appeared to affect the outcome of patients with localized Ewing sarcoma positively. These results appear to demonstrate the efficacy of the addition of ifosfamide in induction chemotherapy to four-drug standard combination chemotherapy, as confirmed by the improved outcome in terms of 3-year EFS reported in the SE 91-CNR Protocol compared with the IOR/Ew2 Protocol (77.8% vs. 60.7%). In addition, the better outcome also could be explained by the change in treatment strategy with a trend toward the use of more surgery than radiation therapy compared with the authors' previous protocol.

Adolescent↗

P-glycoprotein expression in osteosarcoma: a basis for risk-adapted adjuvant chemotherapy.

Previous reports on osteosarcomas treated with multi-agent chemotherapy have shown that P-glycoprotein expression is a reliable prognostic indicator. The current thinking is that, of the several agents used for the treatment of osteosarcoma, only doxorubicin is involved in drug resistance mediated by P-glycoprotein. This study examines the relationship of P-glycoprotein expression to clinical outcome in osteosarcomas, treated only with doxorubicin in addition to surgery, to determine if the prognostic significance of P-glycoprotein expression reflects the ability of osteosarcoma to respond to this drug. The expression of P-glycoprotein in tumor specimens was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 37 nonmetastatic, operable osteosarcomas treated at a single institution with doxorubicin as a single adjuvant drug. The P-glycoprotein status was analysed in relation to the length of event-free survival. A widespread pattern of P-glycoprotein expression in tumor cells at diagnosis was significantly associated with a higher rate of systemic relapse (p < 0.001). On comparison of this group of patients with a similar series of 92 patients, all treated with multi-agent chemotherapy plus surgery of the primary lesion and previously analysed for P-glycoprotein status, only P-glycoprotein-positive, doxorubicin-resistant tumors consistently benefited from the addition of drugs other than doxorubicin (p < 0.001). Osteosarcomas with different abilities to respond to adjuvant chemotherapy can be identified by the expression of P-glycoprotein in tumor cells at the clinical onset. P-glycoprotein status may serve as a basis for risk-adapted, individualized therapeutic regimens. Standard programs are sufficient for P-glycoprotein-negative osteosarcomas, whereas P-glycoprotein-positive tumors may benefit from the use of more intensive therapeutic approaches.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Secondary tumors in bone sarcomas after treatment with chemotherapy.

New oncologic treatments have improved survival in osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma. However, these treatments may cause secondary malignancies after radiotherapy. This study evaluated the incidence of secondary malignancies after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Between April 1972 and December 1990, 518 osteosarcoma and 299 Ewing's sarcoma patients entered neoadjuvant chemotherapy protocols. Follow-up records of all patients were analyzed and malignant tumors were reported. Nine patients developed another malignancy, including 5 leukemias, 1 astrocytoma, 1 liposarcoma, 1 parotid, and 1 breast carcinoma. Four leukemias were found in patients treated for osteosarcoma with chemotherapy, but not radiotherapy. Only one leukemia developed after Ewing's sarcoma treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The incidence of leukemias is high, while the other tumors can be explained as unrelated cases. Incidence densities for leukemia were calculated for both groups of patients. Treated osteosarcoma patients seem to have a predisposition to develop leukemias, but whether this is chemotherapy induced needs to be investigated.

Adolescent↗

Prospective evaluation of high-dose ifosfamide-related nephrotoxicity in young adult patients with recurrent osteosarcoma previously treated with cisplatin, methotrexate and standard-dose ifosfamide.

A prospective evaluation of high-dose ifosfamide (IFO)-related nephrotoxicity in adults and young adults previously treated with cisplatin, methotrexate (MTX) and standard-dose IFO was performed. Eighteen patients (median age 22) with recurrent osteosarcoma were studied: 11 were pretreated with MTX, cisplatin and standard-dose IFO, and seven with MTX and cisplatin. The treatment was comprised of four cycles of high-dose IFO (15 g/m2 over 5 days CI) and mesna at equivalent dose with granulocyte colony stimulating factor support. Renal function was assessed before treatment, after each IFO cycle and after chemotherapy completion. Acute nephrotubular damage was always observed after each IFO cycle with significant changes of renal tubular enzymes N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, alanine aminipeptidase, urinary excretion and reduction of tubular reabsorption of phosphate. The appearance of glycosuria was related to the cumulative dose received. Transient and reversible renal tubular acidosis was observed in three patients. WHO grade I renal toxicity was observed in two patients. After chemotherapy completion, persistent mild glomerular and nephrotubular impairment was observed in one patient who had also received aminoglycoside antibiotics due to febrile neutropenia. Persistent and mild glycosuria was documented in another patient. No significant changes compared to baseline values were observed in the remaining patients. We conclude that a chemotherapy regimen with high-dose IFO in young adults pretreated with MTX, cisplatin and standard-dose IFO is feasible with a mild, usually reversible, nephrotoxicity.

Adolescent↗

Determination of ifosfamide by HPLC using on-line sample preparation.

The Authors have developed a novel and easily applicable HPLC method for ifosfamide (IF) determination. This method involves on-line sample processing and its solid-phase extraction by means of an automatic preparator integrated with the chromatographic system. The calibration graph of the method is linear in the concentration range 6-200 microg/ml; minimum detectable concentration is 6 microg/ml. This highly accurate and easily reproducible method was used by the Authors in the treatment of osteosarcoma with slow infusion of ifosfamide.

Adolescent↗

Cd 34+ cells and clonogenicity of peripheral blood stem cells during chemotherapy treatment in association with granulocyte colony stimulating factor in osteosarcoma.

The introduction of aggressive chemotherapy in the treatment of osteosarcoma has improved the long-term outcome for these patients. With the increasing aggressiveness of chemotherapy protocols, hematopoietic growth factors have emerged as useful adjuncts involving, in some cases, rescue by peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) infusion to assist faster recovery and maintain relative dose intensity. To evaluate the number of PBSCs needed, we analyzed the number of CD34+ cells and hematopoietic progenitor cells in the peripheral blood of 16 patients with osteoblastic, condroblastic and fibroblastic osteosarcoma enrolled in an Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli-Scandinavian Sarcoma Group (IOR-SSG) pilot study, consisting of two cycles of preoperative high dose chemotherapy. The blood samples were studied at different times. The CD34+ cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and the hematopoietic progenitor cells were analyzed by tissue culture clonogenic assay. In comparing the two courses of chemotherapy, we observed that modification of the mean values of WBC, CD34+ and CFU-GM were very similar. The second course of chemotherapy seemed to induce greater hematological toxicity. All three parameters showed good correlation. The results demonstrated that the best time to collect PBSC by means of leukapheresis is post G-CSF used as rescue after ifosfamide treatment. We verified the ability of G-CSF to mobilize PBSCs in patients with osteosarcoma through cytofluorimetric analysis of CD34+ cells and their clonogenic capability. Moreover, during this preoperative treatment, we identified the best time to collect a sufficient number of PBSCs, that is after 9-10 days of G-CSF treatment following the first cycle of ifosfamide.

Adolescent↗

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone: a retrospective EMSOS study of 125 cases. European Musculo-Skeletal Oncology Society.

In an effort to learn more about malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of bone and its prognosis with different treatment approaches, the European Musculo-Skeletal Oncology Society (EMSOS) initiated a retrospective survey among its members. Data requested included patient and treatment variables and outcome. The information on all patients with histologically proven, primary, localized osseous extremity MFH was analyzed if surgical tumor removal was performed and disease status was documented for at least one follow-up date. 125 such patients were evaluable (74 male, 51 female; median age 34 years; tumor site femur 81, tibia 26, humerus 12, other 6). Local treatment was surgery only (110) or surgery plus radiotherapy (15). Chemotherapy was used in 97/125. On last follow-up, 85 patients remained in remission, 33 had developed metastases, 6 a local recurrence, and 1 a combined relapse. With a median follow-up of 3.9 years for patients at risk, actuarial 5-year disease-free survival was 59%. In univariate analyses, younger age and the use of chemotherapy were associated with a more favorable outcome, as was limb-salvage surgery. 23 of 66 tumors with information on response to preoperative chemotherapy responded well (> 90% necrosis). Among these 23, only one relapsed.

Adolescent↗

Relationship between P-glycoprotein expression and p53 status in high-grade osteosarcoma.

The transcription of MDR1 gene may be increased by mutation or loss of function of p53 gene. In this study, we investigated whether in osteosarcoma, the p53 status is correlated with overexpression of the MDR1 gene product P-glycoprotein. The relationship between P-glycoprotein expression and p53 status was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 64 primary and 11 metastatic high-grade osteosarcomas. In the same series, we also assessed the nuclear accumulation of MDM2 protein, whose binding to p53 protein provides an alternative mechanism of p53 inactivation. No association was found between mutant-p53 and MDM2 nuclear accumulation either with P-glycoprotein expression or with clinical course. Only increased expression of P-glycoprotein in tumor cells was significantly associated with a poor outcome, further supporting the adverse prognostic value of this marker in osteosarcoma.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

[Surgical treatment of pulmonary metastases of osteosarcoma. Apropos of 206 operated cases].

Two hundred and six patients were operated for lung metastases from osteosarcoma over a period of 7 years. The operative mortality was 0.3%. The actuarial survival for the overall population was 78% at one year. 50% at two years, 40% at three years and 34% at five years. The most significant prognostic factors (p < 0.01) were the number of metastases, the duration of the free interval and the degree of differentiation. Sex, age, site and type of resection of osteosarcoma or the metastases did not have any influence on prognosis. Surgical resection of lung metastases currently constitutes an essential part of the multidisciplinary management of osteosarcoma.

Adolescent↗

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for Ewing's sarcoma of bone: no benefit observed after adding ifosfamide and etoposide to vincristine, actinomycin, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin in the maintenance phase--results of two sequential studies.

BACKGROUND: Ifosfamide (IF) alone or combined with etoposide (ET) was reported to be effective in the treatment of patients with Ewing's sarcoma who relapsed after treatment with the VACA regimen, which consisted of vincristine (VC), actinomycin (AC), cyclophosphamide (CP), and doxorubicin (AD). The purpose of this article is to report the results achieved in a new neoadjuvant protocol in which IF and ET were added to the conventional VACA regimen and administered to patients with localized disease. METHODS: In this study, eighty-two patients were treated between May 1988 and October 1991. Chemotherapy consisted of two induction cycles of VC/CP/AD followed by alternating cycles of VC/AD/CP, VC/IF/AC, IF/ET, and VC/CP/AC after local treatment. Twenty-two patients (27%) were treated with surgery only, 22 (27%) underwent surgery followed by radiation therapy, and 38 (46%) received radiotherapy only. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 6.7 years (range, 4-9 years), 43 patients (52%) remained continuously disease free, and 39 relapsed (34 with metastases, 4 with local recurrence and metastases, and 1 with a local recurrence). These results were similar to those obtained at the same institute in a previous neoadjuvant study (March 1983 and April 1988) that included 108 patients treated with the conventional 4-drug regimen. The 5-year disease free and overall survival in the current study were 54% and 59%, respectively, and in the first study were 50% and 56%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The comparison of these two sequential studies, although not randomized, referred to homogeneous groups of patients observed at the same institution who were treated by the same medical team. No advantage was observed when IF and ET were added to the VACA regimen.

Adolescent↗

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for extremity osteosarcoma--preliminary results of the Rizzoli's 4th study.

A neoadjuvant chemotherapy protocol (1/93-1/95) for extremity osteosarcoma preoperatively using high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) as single agent per cycle and three different combinations of other drugs (CDP/IFO,CDP/ADM,IFO/ADM) is reported. The four drugs were used postoperatively as single agents. Treatment was uniform, but suspended earlier if total necrosis was attained. An improvement was found in the results of the previous study using only IFO postoperatively, with 16/119 patients (97%) avoiding amputation, and 38 (32%) attaining complete necrosis. At a 3-year (2-4 years) mean follow-up, 92 patients (76%) remained continuously disease-free, 2 died of chemotherapy-related toxicity and 25 suffered relapse. Projected 3-year DFS also improved (75% vs. 60%; p = 0.04). Despite limb salvage, local recurrences (6.3%) and infections were few, although postoperative chemotherapy was restarted within a week. Therefore, until new effective drugs are found, expertise in using the four known drugs may improve cure rate and help to avoid amputation in almost all patients.

Adolescent↗

Predictive factors of histological response to primary chemotherapy in Ewing's sarcoma.

Clinicopathologic variables associated with a good histological response to primary chemotherapy in Ewing's sarcoma are identified. The histological response to preoperative chemotherapy in 243 cases of Ewing's sarcoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy was analyzed in relation to different clinicopathological features (sex and age of the patients, tumor size, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, tumor site) and to the type and schedule of anticancer drugs delivered preoperatively according to three consecutive chemotherapy regimens. A higher rate of good responses was achieved with the use of ifosfamide and dactinomycin in addition to a conventional three-drug VAC regimen, suggesting that these drugs should be included from the beginning in neoadjuvant regimens for the treatment of Ewing's sarcoma. The analysis of event-free survival in 158 patients with a 4-year minimum follow-up confirmed that histological response to preoperative chemotherapy is a reliable predictor of outcome in Ewing's sarcoma.

Adolescent↗

Osteosarcoma of the extremities with synchronous lung metastases: long-term results in 44 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Between September 1986 and September 1991, 44 patients with lung metastases originating from an osteosarcoma of an extremity were treated with: primary chemotherapy, simultaneous resection of primary and metastatic lesions (when feasible), and then further chemotherapy. After primary chemotherapy, lung metastases disappeared in 5 patients, whereas in 11 patients they remained surgically unresectable. All 16 patients received local treatment of the primary tumor only. In the remaining 28 patients simultaneous surgical treatment of the primary and the metastatic tumor was performed. The removal of metastatic lesions was complete in 25 and incomplete in 3 patients. With a median follow-up of 8 years (5.5-10.8) all 14 patients who never achieved a tumor-free status died. Of the 30 patients who achieved remission 5 (17%) remained continuously free of disease and 25 developed new metastases, associated with local recurrence in 4 cases. The 5-year overall survival for all 44 patients of the study was 14%, and the 5-year disease-free survival for the 30 patients who reached remission was 17%. These results are significantly worse than those achieved with the same chemotherapy protocol in 144 contemporary patients with localized disease at presentation (73% disease-free and 79% overall survival). We conclude that, despite aggressive chemotherapy which is successful in patients with localized disease, the prognosis remains very poor for patients with osteosarcoma of the extremities with lung metastases at presentation, and justifies the use of novel therapies.

Adolescent↗

Ifosfamide and actinomycin-D, added in the induction phase to vincristine, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin, improve histologic response and prognosis in patients with non metastatic Ewing's sarcoma of the extremity.

The role of ifosfamide as first-line chemotherapy treatment of non metastatic Ewing's sarcoma of the extremity is still under discussion. The purpose of this paper is to report the results achieved in a neoadjuvant protocol (REN-3) in which ifosfamide, added to the conventional VACA regimen, was employed since the induction phase. Induction chemotherapy consisted of vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, actinomycin-D and ifosfamide. After local treatment, patients received the drugs used in the induction phase and etoposide. Between November 1991 and November 1994, 61 patients with non metastatic Ewing's sarcoma of the extremity were treated. Forty-nine patients underwent surgery and 73.5% of them had a good histologic response. At a median follow-up of 60 months (range 32-76), 48 patients (79%) remained continuously disease-free. The 5-year event-free and overall survival were 77% and 87%, respectively. These results were significantly better both in terms of histologic response or event-free and overall survival than those obtained in 58 patients with non metastatic Ewing's sarcoma of the extremity treated in a previous protocol (REN-2) in which the same drugs were used, but ifosfamide was employed only in the maintenance phase. The present study suggests the importance of early use of ifosfamide in the treatment of patients with non metastatic Ewing's sarcoma of the extremity.

Adolescent↗

Predictive factors of histologic response to primary chemotherapy in osteosarcoma of the extremity: study of 272 patients preoperatively treated with high-dose methotrexate, doxorubicin, and cisplatin.

PURPOSE: In osteosarcoma of the extremity, a strong correlation between chemotherapy-induced necrosis and prognosis has been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible factors that influence histologic response to primary chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 272 patients with high-grade osteosarcoma of the extremity preoperatively treated with high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX), cisplatin (CDP), and doxorubicin (ADM), the histologic response to chemotherapy was evaluated and graded as complete (no viable tumor cells) or incomplete (persistence of viable tumor cells). Several factors, such as metastatic disease to the lung at diagnosis, sex, age, site and tumor volume, histologic subtype, serum alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and methotrexate (MTX) pharmacokinetics were investigated to test their predictive significance on histologic response. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients with localized disease (20.6%) and none of the 25 patients with metastatic disease at presentation had a complete histologic response (P = .006). After multivariate analysis, performed on patients with localized disease only, MTX serum peak (> or = 700 micromol/L) and histologic subtype were proven to be significant predictive factors of histologic response. A complete response was seen in 28.8% of patients with 700 micromol/L or greater MTX serum levels and in 9.9% of those patients with lower levels (P = .001). The chondroblastic subtype was less responsive (6.1% of complete response), compared with the osteoblastic (16.3%), fibroblastic (33.3%), and telangiectatic (42.3%). CONCLUSION: Patients with metastatic osteosarcoma and localized chondroblastic osteosarcoma have a reduced chemosensitivity to primary chemotherapy with MTX, CDP, and ADM. MTX serum peak significantly influences tumor necrosis. A dose adaptation of MTX is recommended to obtain a serum peak of 700 micromol/L or greater when MTX is infused in 6 hours.

Adolescent↗

Predictive factors for local recurrence in osteosarcoma: 540 patients with extremity tumors followed for minimum 2.5 years after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

We investigated predictive factors for local recurrence in 540 patients with non-metastatic osteosarcoma of the extremity treated with surgery and neoadjuvant chemotherapy, between March 1983 and October 1994. The median follow-up was 7.5 (2.5-15) years. Local recurrences developed in 31 (6%) patients after a median time of 2 (0.5-7) years. Local recurrence did not correlate with patients' age and sex, histologic subtype, site and tumor volume, presence of pathologic fracture, chemotherapy regimen and type of surgery. Local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) correlated with the quality of surgical margins and response to chemotherapy: the 7-year LRFS was 97% after adequate surgical margins and 71% after inadequate surgical margins (p < 0.0001), and was 95% in good responders and 90% in poor responders (p = 0.001). Only 1 of 31 patients with local recurrence was free of disease 15 months after the last treatment, 3 were alive with uncontrolled disease and 27 died. This post-relapse outcome is significantly worse than in patients who relapsed with metastases only (25% free of disease, 0.5-9 years after the last treatment). We conclude that, in osteosarcoma of the extremity, limb-salvage procedures should be planned only when the preoperative staging indicates that it is possible to achieve adequate surgical margins. If the pathologic examination of the surgical specimen shows inadequate surgical margins, an immediate amputation should be considered, especially if the histologic response to preoperative chemotherapy was poor.

Adolescent↗