Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Conte

Publications and source records attributed to M Conte.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Stercoraceous perforation of the cecum: report of two cases.

Two cases of stercoraceous perforation of the cecum with adjacent mass formation simulating a neoplasm are described. The predisposing factors for the formation of fecalomas and the mechanisms of perforation are discussed and a review of the literature on this subject is presented. There were no demonstrable predisposing colonic lesions to account for the fecaloma formation in these casesmboth patients recovered completely after surgical treatment of the lesions.

Cecal Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hypercoagulable state in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer: evidence for an acquired resistance to activated protein C.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Thromboembolic complications are common in patients with cancer and represent the second cause of death in patients with overt malignant disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the activated protein C pathway in cancer. METHODS: We studied the coagulation cascade, natural clotting inhibitors, fibrinolytic proteins and resistance to activated protein C in 20 patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer and 84 volunteers by measuring PT, APTT, fibrinogen, AT III, PC, PS, APC resistance, fibrinolytic system (PLG, ANPL, PAI-1, and t-PA) and activation peptides (D-Dimers, prothrombin 0 fragment 1 + 2/F1 + 2). RESULTS: Laboratory tests confirmed coagulation abnormalities in cancer patients. Fibrinogen, D-Dimers and F1 + 2 were increased, while t-PA activity was significantly lower than that of controls. APC resistance was higher in cancer patients compared to the control group (55% vs 2%; P < 0.0001). Excess thrombin generation was manifested by increased F1 + 2 plasma levels in APC-resistant cancer patients. Genetic analyses showed that only one patient with a poor response to APC carried a factor V R506Q mutation in exon 10. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show a high prevalence of APC resistance in cancer, compatible with an acquired defect in the APC pathway.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Phyllodes tumor of the breast. Personal contribution of 21 cases].

The study is based on the observation of 21 cases of phyllodes tumour of the breast. The mean age of patients was 43 years (range 18-60 years). In all the cases the tumour was monolateral, more common in the right breast (66.7% vs. 33.3%) and in external quadrants. Clinical features and diagnostic investigations were able to make a preoperative diagnosis in 6 out of 21 cases, while frozen sections and histological examination allowed to diagnose in the others. FNAB was not performed in any case. In this way 18 benign and 3 "borderline" tumours were discovered. No malignant lesion was observed. Local recurrence rate was 14.6%. Local recurrence was not associated with age of patients, tumor size and histological type. In neither case axillary nodal involvement was found. The study and the review of the literature suggest that wide local excision is the treatment of choice and adjuvant therapies have no place in the routine management of phyllodes tumours.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Mortality in a cohort of alcoholics from Arezzo in 1979-1997].

This study evaluates the risk of mortality in a cohort of Italian alcoholics resident in a rural area characterised by traditional drinking habits. Individual vital status of the 1,037 patients enrolled at the Centro Alcologico in Arezzo during the 1979-1997 period has been traced. Causes of death (ICD-IX) have been retrieved from the Regional Mortality Register. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) have been computed according to gender and 5-year age group mortality rates of the general population resident in Tuscany during the same period. This cohort is representative of the traditional rural alcoholism of the Tuscany region based on wine consumption. Among the 9,190 person-years followed-up, 333 deaths have occurred, corresponding to approximately 2.6 fold the expected number of deaths (SMR males: 2.6; females: 2.4). In both genders, significantly high SMRs for liver cirrhosis, oesophagus and liver cancer are reported, while SMRs of cancers at all sites, oral and respiratory cancers, injuries as a whole, road and traffic accidents, and suicides are significantly elevated only among males. No relevant variation between expected and observed deaths for pancreatic diseases, colon cancer, female breast cancer, and, despite a large proportion of heavy smokers, for cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases, coronary heart diseases) has been recorded. This research confirms the high mortality among a cohort of Italian alcoholics. However, causes of death related with violence and trauma are proportionally less represented, in accordance with the social pattern of Mediterranean alcoholism. The absence of cardiovascular mortality risk in a wine-based cohort of alcoholics is an unexpected finding that requires to be further examined. Finally, to prevent smoking related deaths, alcohol addiction services should begin to introduce smoking cessation practices among treatment protocols.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Neuroblastoma. Tumor rupture as an unfavorable prognostic factor].

Since there is little information regarding the possible prognostic significance of tumor rupture in localized neuroblastoma, we have analyzed the clinical courses of 163 children registered from 1979-1990 in 12 italian pediatric oncology Centers participating in the Neuroblastoma Cooperative Group of the A.I.E.O.P. (Italian Association for Paediatric Haematology-Oncology). Ten instances (6%) of tumor rupture were described. Ruptures occurred preoperatively in one child, during the operation in 9; among these 9, two were provoked by the surgeon to allow radical tumor excision, 7 were accidental. Of these 10 children, 7 relapsed at 3-25 months (median, 8 months) from diagnosis. Relapses were local in 5 children (2 of the 5 died), disseminated in one (who died), local + disseminated in one (presently alive with disease). Two local relapses were followed by bony or haematologic spread at 4 and 8 months, respectively. Of the 7 children who relapsed, 2 are alive in complete remission at 29, 100 months, respectively; two are alive with disease at 3 and 65 months, 3 died at 8, 15 and 24 months, respectively. We conclude that rupture of a localized neuroblastoma is a factor predisposing to relapse and may compromise the chance of cure. The surgeon should be aware of the risks connected with this complication and make any effort to avoid it.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drug abuse in pregnancy: fetal growth and malformations.

The influence of drug addiction in pregnancy on the fetus is in terms of malformation, ponderal and functional development and post-natal psychoneuromotor development. The Authors evaluate the incidence of this complications in 101 drug addicted pregnant patients and the results are shown below.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Usefulness of ranitidine in the treatment of esophagitis caused by gastro-esophageal acid reflux].

The results of a randomised prospective study conducted on 40 patients with erosive oesophagitis caused by gastro-oesophageal acid reflux are reported. The patients were divided into two groups and given either ranitidine or a placebo. The clinical and endoscopic evolution confirmed by the histological findings and pH figures demonstrated a significantly better performance in the patients treated with ranitidine. No clinically significant side effects were noted.

Adult↗