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Biomedical subjects

P Manente

Publications and source records attributed to P Manente.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Weekly vinorelbine in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Many lung cancers are diagnosed in patients over 65 years of age, but limited data are available on the tolerance and activity in elderly patients of chemotherapy protocols designed for adults. METHODS: We therefore activated a phase II study in patients aged 65 years or older affected by stage IIIB-IV non-small-cell lung cancer in order to assess the tolerance and activity of vinorelbine administered weekly at a dose of 25 mg/m2. RESULTS: Since June 1992, 25 patients (20 males, 5 females; performance status ECOG, 0-2) have been included in the study and are evaluable for response and side effects. Two-hundred and twenty-eight cycles of therapy have been delivered (median/patient, 9 cycles). Four partial remissions (16%; 95% confidence interval 5-36%), 9 disease stabilizations, and 12 progressions have been observed. Median time to disease progression was 3 months, and median survival was 5 months (range, 2-25+). Mild or moderate side effects included leukopenia (6 cases), neutropenia (4 cases), anemia (4 cases), nausea (4 cases), infection (3 cases) and thoracic pain (2 cases). Grade III/IV toxicity consisted mainly of leukopenia and neutropenia observed respectively in 5 and in 7 patients. No significant difference in terms of tolerability has been observed for patients aged 65 to 70 with respect to patients aged 70 years or older. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of vinorelbine in elderly patients does not seem to differ significantly in terms of response and tolerability from that recorded for adults. Selected elderly patients with good performance status and adequate organ function can be safely treated with systemic chemotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Medical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: any progress?

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the most common neoplasms worldwide. Curative treatment options include liver transplantation or resection. Unfortunately, most patients still have unresectable or untransplantable HCC due to disease extension or comorbid factors and are therefore candidate only for palliative treatments. METHODS: In this review we have analyzed the different medical approaches employed in the treatment of HCC in an attempt to better define their roles. RESULTS: Palliative medical treatments including systemic chemotherapy, immunotherapy or hormonal manipulation rarely influence survival of the patients. Although a high response rate is often reported with new local therapies such as transcatheter arterial embolization, intraarterial chemotherapy or percutaneous ethanol injection, the real impact of these treatment modalities on patient survival remains to be determined. CONCLUSION: One way to improve the diagnosis of HCC patients would be an appropriate approach to evaluate new drugs or treatment modalities. To answer all the open questions, further trials, possibly randomized, should be conducted on a substantial number of patients with homogeneous prognostic factors.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗
PubMed1987

Apparently nonfunctioning metastases of parathyroid carcinoma.

A 41-year-old woman was operated on for severe hyperparathyroid syndrome. At surgery a parathyroid tumor with the histopathologic pattern of carcinoma was found. After surgery serum calcium settled within normal limits (10.5 mg/dl, N.V. 8.5-10.8), whereas parathormone and calcitonin reached progressively high levels, respectively 400 ng/dl (N.V. up to 250) and 500 pg/ml (N.V. up to 100 ng/ml). Serum ultrafiltration analysis for parathormone and calcitonin showed many peaks of immunoreactivity with high molecular weight of both hormones. One year after surgery, metastases developed in the lymph nodes of the neck and the mediastinal, pleural and pancreatic regions. After death for tumor wasting, immunohistochemical study of the tumoral tissue with the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique showed a relatively high density of calcitonin-containing cells. The findings in this case suggest that: several cells in this parathyroid cancer could secrete both parathormone and calcitonin; the hormonal secretion was impaired as suggested by the high molecular weight of both hormones found at gel-filtration analysis; the macromolecular profile of parathormone could explain the apparent function of the parathyroid cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Serum immunoreactive calcitonin in lung cancer.

Serum immunoreactive calcitonin (iCT) assay was performed in 92 patients suffering from different kinds of cancer of the lung and in 42 healthy control subjects. Gel filtration of serum of patients suffering from microcytoma was carried out on Sephadex G75 to study the forms of circulating iCT. The obtained results (pg/ml M +/- SE) were: 1) normal subjects, 73 +/- 3; 2) epidermoidal cancer, 105 +/- 19; 3) adenocarcinoma, 116 +/- 47; 4) anaplastic carcinoma with large cells, 156 +/- 74; 5) microcytoma , 354 +/- 74; 6) chronic obstructive bronchitis, 38 +/- 6. Gel filtration of serum of patients with microcytoma demonstrated the same behavior as in normal subjects. We can conclude that iCT increases significantly in microcytoma with extensive disease (84% of cases): in this condition, the iCT assay can be useful as a marker in follow-up of disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1984

Calcitonin in hepatoma and cirrhosis.

Plasma immunoreactive calcitonin (iCT) is elevated in primary liver cancer and its measurement has been proposed as a tumour marker. Since iCT is also frequently raised in alcoholic liver cirrhosis, it would be of practical relevance to distinguish this condition from primary hepatoma by measuring the plasma level of iCT. We measured plasma iCT levels in 23 subjects with primary liver cancer, in 27 with hepatic cirrhosis and in 42 healthy subjects who served as normal controls. A gel-chromatography analysis was carried out on the plasma of two cases of hepatoma, two of cancer and cirrhosis, and two of alcoholic liver cirrhosis. The subjects with primary liver cancer had values of plasma iCT (pg/ml; mean +/- SE) of 342 +/- 41; those with liver cirrhosis 159 +/- 22, and normal controls 73 +/- 3. The increase in primary liver cancer was significant in comparison both healthy subjects (P less than 0.001) and with cirrhotic patients (P less than 0.001). Twenty-two out of 23 patients with primary liver cancer and 13 out of 27 with liver cirrhosis had elevated iCT values (upper normal limit 113 pg/ml). There was no significant difference between plasma iCT values of patients with cancer and those with cirrhosis. However, we measured iCT values higher than 400 pg/ml only in patients with primary liver cancer. The gel-filtration analysis showed 3 or 4 peaks of iCT with a molecular weight higher than synthetic human calcitonin. The results suggest that plasma iCT levels can be considered a reliable marker of liver cancer, whereas its discriminating power between liver cancer and cirrhosis was not entirely satisfactory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1982

[Radioimmunologic determination of circulating parathyroid hormone in patients with primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism].

A radioimmunological evaluation was made of plasma parathormone (PTH), using an antibody against the C-terminal fraction, in 14 subjects with primary parahyperthyroidism, and in 19 anuric subjects with secondary forms on three-weekly dialysis. In all cases, values were significantly higher (p less than 0.01) than in a group of normal controls. In secondary forms, the same significance was also apparent on comparison with primary forms, probably due to an absence of renal clearance of the hormone.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

[Early gastric cancer: a retrospective study of our cases (1974-1979)].

A retrospective analysis of 3052 gastroscopies made by our Digestive Endoscopy Department from 1974 to 1979 was carried out. 14 Early Gastric Cancers out of a total of 157 gastric carcinomas were diagnosed (8.9%), with an EGC: Gastroscopies ratio = 1:218. From the macroscopic point of view 8 were found to belong to type III, 5 to type II, and 1 to type I. The main location was the lesser curvature (angulus-antrum). With regard to the degree of infiltration, 2 were found to belong to stage 0a, 8 to stage 0b, and 5 to stage I. The endoscopic observation gave reason to suspect the presence of a malignant lesion in 6 of the 14 cases. The bioptic examination proved positive in 10 cases, while in 4 the diagnosis was made on the operatory piece. The importance of multiple bioptic samples is again confirmed. Cytology performed by brushing showed malignant tumoral cells in 4 cases, and again in 4 cases the radiological examination led to suspicion of degenerated gastric ulcer. 13 patients were subjected to surgery during which no metastases to the locoregional lymphonodes were found; the patients are all alive. We started gastric carcinoma screening by selecting the patients on the basis of a worksheet covering epidemiological, clinical, biohumoural and instrumental parameters, since the prognosis for the disease is directly proportional to the earliness of its diagnosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

[Basal prolactinemia and level after stimulation with TRH in juvenile gynecomastia].

TSH and PRL in basal conditions and after stimulus with TRH, gonadotrophin in basal conditions and after stimulus with GnRH, plasma testosterone, urinary oestrogens and peripheral thyroid hormones have been evaluated in 11 subjects with puberal gynaecomastia, 7 with post-puberal gynaecomastia and 14 normal controls. With respect to the normal controls, only patients with post-puberal gynaecomastia showed higher levels of basal PRL and after TRH stimulus. The behaviour of these patients could suggest that in subjects with post-puberal gynaecomastia there may be persistent endocrine imbalance, whereas in puberal gynaecomastia such imbalance is only transitory and is exhausted prior to the onset of mammary tumefaction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

[Case of pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism].

A case of pseudo-pseudo-parathyroidism, in which normal blood chemistry data were accompanied by marked shortening of the 4th metacarpus and metatarsus, and a suggestion of syndactyly, is reported.

Adult↗