Incidental prostatic carcinoma: four-year follow-up after treatment with cyproterone acetate

This report is a retrospective clinical randomized study carried out on 114 cases of incidental prostatic carcinoma aged 55-87 years, 58 untreated and 56 treated with cyproterone acetate (CPA 200 mg/day) for 6 months, immediately after surgery. 78 cases were staged A1 and the remaining 36 A2. In stage A1, 75 cases were histologically graded G1, and 3 G2, whereas in stage A2, 7 cases were G1, 19 G2 and 10 G3. Moreover, flow cytometric DNA analysis showed in A1 20 G1 carcinomas with nuclear diploidy and 3 G2 with nuclear aneuploidy, in stage A2, 4 G3 tumors with nuclear aneuploidy. During the 4-year follow-up, 25/28 patients of the untreated group and 15/56 of the CPA-treated group were found in progression. In A1, progression was found in 6/37 untreated patients and 5/41 CPA-treated, whilst in A2 progression was observed in 19/21 untreated patients and in 10/15 treated with CPA. The critical period for progression was between the 2nd and 3rd year of follow-up. In A1, therefore, 6 months of therapy with CPA does not modify the progression rate, which is significantly improved in A2 (66% in the treated and 90% in the untreated group) during the first 30 months of follow-up. The prognosis may probably be further improved by continuing endocrine therapy.     

Multiple primary tumors: 17 cases of renal-cell carcinoma associated with primary tumors involving different steroid-hormone target tissues

The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of 17 women with renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with other primary neoplasms occurring in steroid-hormone target tissues. The reproductive history of these patients and the use of exogenous hormones were taken into consideration. In all, 10 RCCs were associated with breast carcinoma; 4, with endometrial carcinoma; and 3, with ovarian carcinoma. The presentation of a second primary tumor was described as synchronous or metachronous by evaluation of the interval between the discovery of the two neoplasms. Hormone and surgical treatment as well as pathologic findings for each primary tumor were also reported. In these 17 RCCs the overall rate of disease-specific survival recorded after a mean follow-up period of 32.7 months (range 9–66 months) was 58.8%; 7 patients died of metastatic disease after surviving for a mean of 14.7 months. In terms of the pathologic stage of RCC, a significant difference in mean survival was found between pN0 (mean survival 22.1 ± 3.4 months) and pN 1 RCCs (mean survival 13.7 ± 3.5 months). A total of 13 (76.4%) women were postmenopausal at the time of diagnosis of the first primary tumor; the mean age of these women at menopause was 51.7 ± 1.2 years. No prior use of oral contraceptives was reported by 12 (70.5%) of the 17 patients. Plasma 17-beta-estradiol and estrone levels were determined in only 7 patients at the diagnosis of each of the primary tumors. High plasma estrogen levels were found in 4 women with RCC and breast carcinoma and in 1 patient with RCC and endometrial carcinoma; in the remaining 2 patients low-normal values were found. A relationship appears to exist between certain reproductive and hormone-related factors and the risk of developing these tumor associations. Data emerging from the present study do not provide strong support for the hypothesis of hormone dependency of RCC; however, a role for estrogens in cases in which RCC is associated with other primary tumors involving steroid-hormone target tissues can be hypothesized.     

Conservatively Treated Breast Cancer: Outcome by Histologic Subtype

Abstract: Between 1970 and 1990, 1,008 patients with early-stage breast cancer were treated by conservative surgery without axillary dissection followed by radiation therapy to the intact breast in the Department of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The patient population, broken down by histologic subtype, was as follows: 761 patients presented with infiltrating ductal carcinoma, 70 patients with pure intraductal, 38 intraductal with focal invasion, 54 infiltrating lobular, 21 tubular, 17 medullary, 16 mucinous, and 29 with other various histologic subtypes. Patients were followed on a regular basis by the referring physicians and radiation oncologists. Diagnostic studies for distant metastases were performed as clinically indicated. Annual mammography was a routine component of the follow-up program. As of 3/96, with a median follow-up of 10.5 years, 83 patients developed an ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence, and 109 patients developed distant metastases resulting in an overall 10-year breast recurrence-free rate of 84%, and a 10-year distant metastasis-free rate of 78%. There were significant differences in clinical stage, pathological nodal involvement, and administration of systemic therapy between various histologic subtypes. As expected, those patients with histologies of low metastatic potential (such as intraductal, tubular, and mucinous) had significantly superior distant recurrence-free survival rates. With respect to breast relapse rates, there were no statistically significant differences in the 5- and 10-year breast recurrence-free rates between any of the histologic subtypes. Patients with intraductal carcinoma with or without focal invasion had similar breast relapse rates as those with other histologic subtypes. Patients with lobular carcinoma in situ as a histologic component also had a similar overall breast relapse-free recurrence rate. In conclusion, long-term follow-up of conservatively treated breast cancer patients demonstrates no significant differences in ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence rates between various histologic subtypes. There are no histologies which had a statistically significantly higher breast-relapse rate than infiltrating ductal carcinomas and therefore no primary histologic subtype represents a relative contraindication to breast conservation therapy.     

The efficacy and safety of once-daily ceftibuten compared with co-amoxiclav in the treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis.

The efficacy and safety of a once-daily oral regimen of 400 mg ceftibuten was compared with oral co-amoxiclav 500 mg three times daily in a multicentre, single-blind study. In patients with a bacteriologically confirmed infection, a successful clinical outcome was reported in 25 of 25 patients treated with ceftibuten and 10 of 10 patients treated with co-amoxiclav. In a further group of 88 patients, most of whom had been excluded from the primary efficacy evaluation because no pathogen was isolated pretreatment, overall successful clinical outcomes of 87% and 88% were reported for ceftibuten and co-amoxiclav, respectively. The duration of treatment and the time to resolution of the signs and symptoms of sinusitis were not significantly different in the two treatment groups. The incidence of adverse events was higher in the co-amoxiclav-treated patients (31% versus 15% in the ceftibuten group) as was the incidence of severe events (10% for co-amoxiclav-treated patients versus < 1% in the ceftibuten group). In summary, once-daily ceftibuten can be considered a safe and effective treatment for acute bacterial sinusitis.     

Identification and Subcellular Localization of Neuronal Calcium Sensor-1 (NCS-1) in Human Neutrophils and HL-60 Cells

Secretion in neutrophils is thought to be regulated in different ways for the different granule types. Specific granules are endowed with proteins which are related to docking and fusion events and are absent on azurophilic granules. Furthermore, even if secretion of content from all neutrophil granules is a Ca(2+)-dependent process, a higher concentration of cytosolic calcium is required for azurophilic than for specific granule secretion. In this paper we show that human neutrophils and promyelocitic cells express neuronal calcium sensor-1 (NCS-1), a calcium binding protein involved in exocytosis in various cell types. Both mRNA and protein were found in mature cells and precursors. NCS-1 is shown to be mainly associated with azurophilic granules and, therefore could play an instrumental role in the calcium-dependent secretion of azurophilic granules.     

Prophylactic chemotherapy with fosfomycin trometamol during transurethral surgery and urological man?uvres. Results of a multicentre study

The aim of the present open prospective study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of fosfomycin trometamol in the chemoprophylaxis of urinary tract infections following transurethral diagnostic and/or therapeutic manuvres. 712 patients were enrolled in 72 urological surgical centres. All the enrolled patients received an initial dose of fosfomycin trometamol (Monuril® sachet containing 3 g of active drug in powder) 3 h before and a second dose 24 h after the transurethral manuvres. Clinical and microbiological examinations were carried out before the intervention, and then on the second and seventh days after the manuvres. 94 patients with positive baseline tests were excluded from the microbiological follow-up for noncompliance with the main inclusion criteria. Out of 618 patients with sterile urine or with bacteriuria <>⁵ ml on baseline screening, 20 (3.2%) developed UTI on the second day and 22 (3.6%) on the seventh day after treatment. Clinical follow-up is in agreement with these microbiological data. Overall, a total of 24 side effects were observed (3.3%), 16 of which were associated with Monuril® treatment. The results of this open study agree with the preliminary observations in the controlled studies.In der vorliegenden Studie wurde die Wirksamkeit und Sicherheit von Fosfomycin Trometamol in der Chemoprophylaxe bei diagnostischen und therapeutischen transurethralen Eingriffen geprüft. In 72 urologischen Zentren wurden 712 Patienten in die Studie aufgenommen. Alle Patienten erhielten drei Stunden vor dem Eingriff eine initiale Einzeldosis von 3 g Fosfomycin Trometamol (Monuril® Beutel mit 3 g Wirkstoff in Pulverform). Nach 24 Stunden wurde eine zweite Dosis verabreicht. Vor dem Eingriff sowie am zweiten und siebten Tag nach dem Eingriff wurden die Patienten klinisch untersucht und mikrobiologische Tests durchgeführt. Wegen Verletzung der Einschlußkriterien wurden 94 Patienten mit positiven Befunden zu Studienbeginn aus der mikrobiologischen Verlaufsbeurteilung ausgeschlossen. 20 der 618 Patienten, die vor dem Eingriff einen sterilen Urin oder eine Bakteriurie mit weniger als 10⁵ Keimen/ml hatten, wiesen am zweiten Tag eine Harnwegsinfektion auf (3,2%); am siebten Tag nach dem Eingriff waren 22 (3,6%) der Patienten an einer Harnwegsinfektion erkrankt. Diese mikrobiologischen Daten stimmen mit den klinischen Befunden bei den Verlaufskontrollen überein. Insgesamt traten in 24 Fällen unerwünschte Wirkungen auf (3,3%), davon wurden 16 mit Monuril® in Zusammenhang gebracht. Die Ergebnisse dieser offenen Studie stimmen mit vorläufigen Ergebnissen kontrollierter Studien überein.     

Madelung Disease: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature

Madelung disease is a rare disorder characterized by the presence of multiple, symmetric, nonencapsulated fatty accumulations diffusely involving the cheeks, the neck, the upper trunk, the shoulder girdle area, and the upper extremities. The cause of this syndrome is unknown, but it has been associated with alcoholism in 60% to 90% of patients. The long-term lipomatous deposits are often large and cosmetically deforming, and the upper aerodigestive tract and great veins may be compressed. We report the case of a man with MD, involving the cervical and upper dorsal regions, who underwent surgical treatment at our Department.     

A Belgian consensus protocol for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is considered to be an immune mediated inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system. It mainly affects young, socioeconomic active patients. Although our armamentarium for this disease has significantly evolved in recent years some patients remain refractory to conventional therapies. In these cases, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be considered as a therapeutic option. Decreasing morbidity, mortality, and increasing patient awareness have led to rising inquiry by our patients about this treatment option. With the aim of a standardized protocol and data registration, a Belgian working party on stem cell therapy in multiple sclerosis was established. In this paper, we report the consensus protocol of this working party on autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis.