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Biomedical subjects

P Neven

Publications and source records attributed to P Neven.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Substantial urinary concentrations of material resembling beta-core fragment of chorionic gonadotropin beta-subunit in mid-menstrual cycle.

We measured the day-to-day variations in concentrations of beta-core, luteinizing hormone (LH), and alpha-subunit in urine during the menstrual cycle. The alpha-subunit concentrations showed a pattern similar to that of the LH concentrations. beta-Core-like material was increased during and up to 3 to 4 days after the surge in urine LH. The urine LH concentration was associated with the presence of beta-core immunoreactivity during the urine LH peak. Chromatography showed that, at the peak LH concentration and at 2 days after the LH peak, beta-core immunoreactivity could be accounted for by the presence of a peptide of low molecular mass similar to the beta-core molecule of hCG, but probably originating from the degradation of LH. The prolonged excretion of gonadotropin metabolites in the midcycle must be considered when beta-core is being assessed as a tumor marker.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

An unusual type of endometrial cancer, related to tamoxifen?

Tamoxifen, which is increasingly being used in breast cancer patients, has been associated with an elevated frequency of endometrial carcinoma. To our knowledge not a single case of uterine serous papillary carcinoma (USPC) has been documented during tamoxifen treatment. No conclusions as to a causal relationship are yet being made, but if it is due to tamoxifen, we should advise a strategy for prevention, because this subtype is not as curable as endometrioid carcinoma.

Cystadenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1992

Usefulness of urodynamic investigations in female incontinence.

Urinary incontinence in females has been evaluated in a prospective series of 408 patients by comparing the clinical diagnosis and the subsequent urodynamic findings. The presenting symptoms or combination of symptoms were shown to have only a limited diagnostic predictive value as measured by urodynamic diagnostic criteria. The symptom of stress incontinence was a sensitive detector of genuine stress incontinence (94% sensitivity) but was not very specific (65%). The symptoms of urgency and urge incontinence were found to have limited sensitivity (62%) and specificity (47%) in the detection of detrusor instability. Even patients with isolated complaints of stress incontinence have an incidence of detrusor instability of 52%, whereas 76% of those with a history of isolated urgency and urge incontinence had detrusor instability. An urodynamic evaluation should be performed on most female patients suffering from urinary incontinence and is essential for patients who are being considered for surgery of stress incontinence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Endometrial lesions in patients undergoing tamoxifen therapy.

Forty-six nonhysterectomized women treated with tamoxifen during 6-36 months as adjuvant therapy for breast cancer underwent a hysteroscopy to assess the endometrial effects of this drug. Whereas the endometrium was normal among 23 patients, 13 presented with endometrial polyps, 8 with hyperplasia and 2 with adenocarcinoma. The rate of endometrial lesions was directly related to the cumulative dose of tamoxifen but it was not statistically different among patients receiving progestational therapy compared to patients who did not receive this therapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

Invasive adenocarcinoma arising in extramammary Paget's disease of the vulva.

A case of extramammary Paget's disease of the vulva giving rise to an invasive microacinar adenocarcinoma is presented. Extramammary Paget's disease of the vulva is rare and documented detailed cases associated with unequivocal dermal invasion exceptional. We have reviewed the literature with particular reference to such cases.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence of HIV antibody and pregnancy in Tayside, 1984-9: background to screening.

OBJECTIVE: To determine age specific prevalence of HIV antibody, incidence of pregnancy, and likelihood of detection and correct assignment to risk category by antenatal screening of women known to be positive for HIV antibody, from 1984 to 1989. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of reproductive history and risk behaviour of women positive for HIV antibody and prediction of detection by screening on the basis of blood group samples, Guthrie tests, and rubella tests. SETTING: City of Dundee, where the prevalence of HIV is high, since the appearance of HIV in 1984, predominantly among heterosexual intravenous drug users. PATIENTS: All (61) women known to be positive for HIV antibody who had had clinically indicated tests, for whom case notes were available for 60. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Risk assessment according to case notes and reported to the laboratory, incidence of infection, geographical location, age, date of positive test result, and reproductive history. RESULTS: With 61 infected women the overall minimum prevalence among women within the city of Dundee was 0.67/1000 and 2.9/1000 among women in their third decade. Of the 60 women whose reproductive history was available, 35 had 57 pregnancies, 36 of which occurred after seroconversion was known to have taken place, representing 8.7% of the total number of affected pregnancies reported for the United Kingdom. If antenatal screening for HIV had been performed between 1984 and 1989 it could not have detected positivity for HIV antibody in 25 (42%) women who had no pregnancies during this time. Among the remaining 35 women, screening samples taken for blood grouping could have identified a maximum of 34 (57%), samples taken to check rubella susceptibility a maximum of 22 (37%), and blood spots on Guthrie cards a maximum of 19 (32%). Retesting would have occurred in 14 women 33 times with samples taken for blood grouping, but three and four women would have been tested twice using samples taken for rubella testing and Guthrie cards respectively. Anonymous screening would have been unable to determine risk category as a history of intravenous drug use was known in 47 (79%) women before testing but this was increased by a further 5 (8%) who admitted to it after the test result was known. CONCLUSION: Interpreting the results of antenatal screening programmes will be complex and will underestimate overall prevalence of HIV antibody among women; this will be exaggerated by strategies based on anonymous testing with Guthrie cards or on samples taken for rubella testing, which do not include women who have had an earlier loss of pregnancy. Only open testing with consent will permit satisfactory attribution to

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hysteroscopic follow-up during tamoxifen treatment.

In order to study the action of Tamoxifen upon the uterus, 16 breast cancer patients were prospectively evaluated by means of an hysteroscopy before Tamoxifen therapy and again after 6 to 36 months of treatment. The results show the occurrence of an endometrial polyp in four cases and of an adenocarcinoma in one case. Moreover, the previously atrophic mucosa became mildly proliferative in seven of the patients who were evaluated.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of classical NSAIDs and COX-2 selective inhibitors on purified ovine enzymes and human whole blood.

Cyclooxygenase is the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of prostanoids, biologically active substances involved in several physiological processes and also in pathological conditions such as inflammation. It has been well known for 10 years that this enzyme exists under two forms: a constitutive (COX-1) and an inducible form (COX-2). Both enzymes are sensitive to inhibition by conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Observations were made that COX-1 was mainly involved in homeostatic processes, while the COX-2 expression was associated with pathological conditions leading to the development of COX-2 selective inhibitors. Several methods have been reported for the evaluation of the COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitory potency and selectivity of conventional or COX-2 selective NSAIDs. In this study, we evaluated the COXs inhibitory profile of both conventional NSAIDs and COX-2 selective inhibitors using two different in vitro methods: the first test was performed using purified enzymes while the second method consisted of a whole blood assay. The results obtained with reference drugs in these two assays will be discussed and compared in this article.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Port-site metastases after open laparoscopy: a study in 173 patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma.

Open laparoscopy was used to diagnose advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with a pelvic mass and an omental cake and/or large-volume ascites were selected for open laparoscopy. One hundred and seventy-three patients with stage III or IV ovarian carcinoma underwent diagnostic open laparoscopy. Seventy-one patients underwent complete excision of port sites at the time of debulking surgery. Thirty (17%) patients developed port-site metastases. However, only 8 (5%) of these port-site metastases were clinically diagnosed, while 22 out of 71 (31%) with complete port-site excision were diagnosed on pathologic examination. There was no significant relationship between the development of port-site metastases and median time to primary chemotherapy or surgery, the presence of ascites, or stage IV disease. All port-site metastases disappeared during primary therapy, and none of the patients developed a second relapse in one of their port sites. We observed a high rate of port-site metastases after laparoscopy in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma. However, prognosis was not worse in this group of patients. Laparoscopy is a convenient technique to diagnose advanced ovarian carcinoma, to exclude other primary tumors, and to refer patients to a tertiary center.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy in 51 women with familial breast-ovarian cancer: importance of fallopian tube dysplasia.

We report our findings on 51 patients with a familial breast and/or ovarian cancer risk who underwent prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (pBSO). Patients undergoing a pBSO between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2003, at the University Hospitals Leuven were reviewed retrospectively. Out of 51 patients, 37 (72.5%) underwent genetic testing, while the 14 others (27.5%) underwent pBSO on the sole basis of a positive family history only. BRCA1 mutation was found in 35% of the tested group, while 30% were BRCA2 carriers. Mean age at intervention was 45.3 years; 33 patients were premenopausal. In 44 patients (86%), the pBSO was performed laparoscopically, and in seven patients we decided laparotomy because of technical reasons. In four patients hysterectomy was performed. Histopathologically, the presence of epithelial dysplasia was observed in two patients (dysplasia of the fallopian tube in a BRCA2 patient; discrete focal atypia of tubal and ovarian epithelium in a patient with a negative BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation analysis). Peritoneal cytology specimens (n= 28) were all negative. Laparoscopic pBSO is well tolerated. Concomitant hysterectomy should be considered, given the observed fallopian tube dysplasia and the possibility of a tubal remnant after pBSO.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gemcitabine-carboplatin-paclitaxel combination as first-line therapy in advanced ovarian carcinoma: a single institution phase II study in 24 patients.

Single-agent gemcitabine demonstrated response rates of 11-60% in platinum/paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer. Twenty-four patients with epithelial ovarian cancer were treated with gemcitabine 800 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, carboplatin area under the curve 5 on day 1, and paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 over 3 h on day 1 every 3 weeks for six cycles. Median age was 54 years, and FIGO stage distribution was IIC, 1 patient, III, 18, and IV, 5. A total of 22 (92%) patients completed all the six planned courses of chemotherapy. Doses were reduced in 8 out of 24 (33%) patients. Of the 17 patients with measurable disease, 15 underwent an interval debulking surgery. Prior to interval debulking surgery, all 15 patients had a partial response according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors criteria. Overall in the 17 patients with measurable disease, the response rate at the end of the first-line chemotherapy (including interval debulking) was 94% (14 [82%] complete response and 2 [12%], partial response). One patient (6%) received only one cycle due to early progression. Using the CA125 criteria as defined by the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup, all patients had at least a partial response prior to interval debulking, and the overall response rate of the whole first-line chemotherapy and interval debulking (n= 15) was observed in 21 out of 23 patients (91%). The dose-limiting toxicity was bone marrow toxicity. Median overall survival was 28 months, and the 2-year actuarial survival was 73%. The gemcitabine, carboplatin, paclitaxel triplet has an acceptable toxicity with high response rates as first-line therapy in advanced ovarian cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of lymphadenectomy and pelvic radiotherapy in patients with clinical FIGO stage I endometrial adenocarcinoma: An analysis of 208 patients.

Two hundred and eight patients with a clinical stage I endometrial carcinoma were studied (164 fulfilled the inclusion criteria). High risk was defined as nonendometrioid, or endometrioid tumors grade 3 (G3), or G2 with any or G1 with deep (>1/2) myometrial infiltration. The low-risk group consisted of the remaining patients. Surgical staging in the high-risk group included pelvic lymphadenectomy with para-aortic lymphadenectomy in selected cases. Twelve percent of the high-risk patients had nodal metastasis. Patients with low-risk (group A, n = 85) and high-risk disease confined to the uterus (group B, n = 57) did not receive adjuvant radiotherapy. Patients with nodal metastases (group C, n = 10) received postoperative irradiation. The total recurrence rate of the entire population was 12.5%, and the actuarial overall survival, disease-specific survival, and disease-free survival were 90%, 94%, and 88%, respectively. All patients with only vaginal relapse (n = 9) were cured locally with salvage radiotherapy until the date of analysis. The pelvic relapse rate was low as only one patient of group B recurred in the pelvis. In conclusion, lymphadenectomy remains indicated to better select patients at high risk of pelvic recurrence that may benefit from postoperative radiotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗