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Biomedical subjects

V Fontana

Publications and source records attributed to V Fontana.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Preoperative evaluation of CA 125 and CA 19-9 serum levels in patients with ovarian masses.

Serum CA 125 and CA 19-9 were presurgically measured in 40 patients with ovarian carcinoma and in 108 with benign ovarian pathologies. The sensitivity for ovarian carcinoma of CA 125 (cut-off value = 65 U/ml) and CA 19-9 (cut-off value = 40 U/ml) were 67.5% and 37.5% respectively. In particular serum CA 125 was elevated in 71.9% of non-mucinous and in 50% of mucinous carcinomas, while serum CA 19-9 was high in 25% of non-mucinous and in 87.5% of mucinous malignancies. The correlation of CA 19-9 with mucinous histotype was significant. Elevated serum levels of CA 125 and CA 19-9 were observed respectively in 14.7% and in 13.8% of benign adnexal masses. The percentages of elevated serum marker levels were significantly higher in patients with ovarian carcinoma than in women bearing benign ovarian pathology (P less than 0.001 for CA 125; P less than 0.01 for CA 19-9). Serum CA 125 and CA 19-9 alone cannot clarify the nature of an adnexal mass. However, the measurement of serum levels of these markers could give additional information to other diagnostic methods, such as ultrasonography, for discriminating benign from malignant ovarian pathologies.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1976

[Surgical treatment of postoperative peptic ulcer].

The literature on postoperative peptic ulcer is reviewed and cases observed in the Department of Surgical Anatomy and Operations Course of Turin University in the period 1-I-1968 - 31-III-1975 are presented. 183 operations for primary gastro-duodenal ulcer were carried out. A variety of techniques was employed, including 138 gastric resections using a modified Billroth II technique, with a recurrence of 1.3% encountered only in patients in the specified group. 15 reoperations for postoperative peptic ulcer were performed with the following result: very good in 7 cases, good in 6, and 2 postoperative deaths. The two deaths concerned a simple gastric reconversion and a gastric re-resection with gastro-jejuno-anastomosis. The personal series confirms the statistics presented by numerous foreign workers.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bcl2, p53 and clinical outcome in a series of 138 operable breast cancer patients.

Medical oncologists are increasingly interested in identifying reliable prognostic factors for breast cancer in order to distinguish subsets of breast cancer patients and to optimize therapeutic approaches. Among them, the p53 tumor suppressor gene and bcl2 protein continue to be extensively studied, but their role remains to be defined. Moreover the mechanism of action by which they affect cell kinetics has to be clarified, particularly with respect to the balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis. We studied 138 operable breast cancer patients in order to verify the relationships of p53 and bcl2 proteins with better known clinicopathological features and their impact on the clinical outcomes of relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Our data indicated a significant relationship between bcl2 expression and steroid receptor positive status, wild-type p53 and low proliferative index. Mutant p53 accumulation was found to be related to the absence of steroid receptors and high proliferation. Both were significant markers of better prognosis in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis confirmed the favorable impact of bcl2 on both RFS and OS. On the contrary, we failed to observe any prognostic role for p53 status. We describe herein an independent favorable prognostic impact for patients with positive bcl2 expression that appears to be worthy of larger confirmatory study. On the contrary, our series seems to confirm the decreasing prognostic relevance of p53 in clinical practice.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Epidemiologic study of the residents of the southeastern area of the Municipality of La Spieza].

We carried out an epidemiologic study to assess the effect on human health of living in an area (Zona D) of La Spezia Municipality (Liguria Region, Italy). Zona D is characterized by the presence of factories, industrial plants, shipyards, a coal-fired power-station, a heavily trafficked thoroughfare and urban waste disposal sites. 230 households for target and control populations were randomly selected from Demographic Department files and surveyed by means of a structured questionnaire administrated by trained interviewers in order to obtain information on adverse health outcome prevalence in 1997 (subjective symptoms and other self-reported conditions) and incidence during 1980-1997 (self-reported diseases diagnosed by general practitioners). In addition, residential, housing, household, and individual characteristics were also gathered. Non-responding households totalled nearly 45%, but were homogeneously distributed by area. After adjustment for several confounders, people living in Zona D showed an increased relative risk (RR) of skin and mucous membrane symptoms (RR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.02-1.53) attributable to airborne pollutants produced by an incinerator located within a disposal site. A rising RR was also observed for anaemia occurrence in both cross-sectional (RR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.08-5.48) and longitudinal (RR = 3.21, 95% CI = 1.52-6.72) settings. These last results are consistent with the presence of lead ground pollution due to a heavy metal processing plant located in the same area. Analysis of adverse reproductive effects and cause-specific incidence and mortality revealed no remarkable differences between the study groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical stage I and II endometrial carcinoma: multivariate analysis of prognostic factors.

In 221 patients with FIGO stage I and II endometrial carcinoma, the impact on survival of age at diagnosis, menopausal status, FIGO stage, myometrial invasion, tumor grade and histology was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. At a median follow-up of 50 months (range 45-210), 42 patients had died, and therefore overall survival was 81% (179/221). Univariate analysis showed that age, menopausal status and histology did not influence survival, whereas FIGO stage, myometrial invasion and tumor grade were important prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor grade had a significant and independent impact on survival and confirmed that FIGO stage is the most important parameter influencing survival.

Actuarial Analysis↗