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Biomedical subjects

A Briccoli

Publications and source records attributed to A Briccoli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Metachronous pulmonary metastases resection in patients with Ewing's sarcoma initially treated with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

55 patients with Ewing's sarcoma of bone, treated at our Institution with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 1972 and 1990, relapsed with pulmonary metastases alone. 12 of these patients--selected according to their long disease-free interval before relapse, monolaterality of the lesions, small numbers of metastatic nodules, resectability and refusal to undergo further chemotherapic treatments--were treated with surgical resection of the metastatic lesions and with no additional radio- or chemotherapy. At a follow-up ranging between 3 and 14 years (mean 9 years), 5 of these 12 patients (42%), were continuously free of disease, whereas the remaining 7 patients died with uncontrolled disease 12-39 months (mean 22 months) after thoracotomy. These results seem to indicate that an aggressive surgical approach should be considered for a selected group of Ewing's sarcoma patients who relapse with only lung metastases.

Adolescent

Changing pattern of relapse in osteosarcoma of the extremities treated with adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

In 551 patients with osteosarcoma of the extremities treated between 1980 and 1991 in our Institution with surgery only (35 cases), surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy (147 cases) or neoadjuvant chemotherapy (369 cases) the relapse patterns were analyzed. Adjuvant chemotherapy was performed according to 2 different protocols and neoadjuvant chemotherapy according to 3 different protocols successively activated. In the 252 patients who relapsed, the interval between initial treatment and first relapse was significantly longer in the group treated with adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (18.1 and 21.3 mo) than in the group treated with surgery only (5.4 mo). For patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a longer interval was seen in the most effective regimen of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (25 mo). No significant differences were seen among the 3 groups, according to the site of first metastasis, although in patients treated with the most effective neoadjuvant regimen there was a higher incidence of bone metastasis. In patients who relapsed with pulmonary metastases the average number of nodules seen by standard X-rays, as well as CT scans, was significantly higher in patients treated with surgery only (3.6) than in patients treated with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy (2.5 and 2.6 nodules). We conclude that these changes in metastatic pattern in patients treated with adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy are important, because they may encourage the use of salvage therapy with thoracotomy in a larger number of patients. Prolongation of time relapsed after more effective regimens of adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be considered when evaluating the preliminary results of new chemotherapy protocols.

Adult

[Treatment of metastatic osteosarcoma with verapamil, cyclosporine and chemotherapy. A case report].

Studies on the use of revertants to overcome MDR have aroused a great interest even if they failed to prove their actual usefulness. A case of 10 years and 6 months old boy is described. He suffered from osteoblastic osteosarcoma and underwent chemotherapy following CNR-NEO3 protocol, wide surgical resection and postoperative chemotherapy. Nineteen months after diagnosis he underwent the removal of a little subpleural nodule in the right lung. Forty-five days later, in the same site, a large local metastasis was observed together with many others secondaries localizations spred in both lungs. Because of the rapid evolution they were considered not suitable for surgical treatment. A cyclosporine and verapamil treatment in association with adryamicin and etoposide was begun with the aim overcoming multidrug resistance. Five treatments were provided. ECG monitoring during verapamil infusion did not show any trouble; mielotoxicity was mild, with no need of transfusions. A lung CT scan at the end of the therapy demonstrated an important decrease of the subpleural metastasis and the vanishing of lung nodules. Another surgical intervention was provided together with 2 postoperative chemotherapy treatments. Twenty-six months later no sign of the disease was observed. Association of verapamil and cyclosporine with chemotherapy allowed to get a good clinical response with a very low toxicity, in a critical situation in which chemotherapy alone did not seem to offer any real possibility.

Bone Neoplasms

[The surgery of pulmonary metastases. The surgical indications and technical aspects of lung resections for metastases].

Surgery for pulmonary metastases is an accepted method of treatment for many kinds of malignant neoplasms, because of favorable results in five-year and ten-year survival. At present several technical aspects are being debate (operative indications, method of thoracic access, procedure of lung resection, approach of bilateral lesions), with the aim of improving the number of patients undergoing radical excision of all pulmonary metastatic foci. The present paper summarizes a recent experience (1989-1992) in the treatment of pulmonary metastases in 55 patients, with special reference to tactical and technical problems related to metastasectomies. The primary tumor was an osteogenic sarcoma in 28 cases (51%), other musculoskeletal and soft tissue sarcoma in 20 (36%), and epithelial neoplasms in 7 (13%). In 47 patients (85%) the discovery of pulmonary metastases was metachronous regarding primary malignancy, with a range of between 3 months and 17 years; in the other 8, lung disease was simultaneous with diagnosis of neoplasm. All patients underwent preoperative standard chest X-ray, thoracic computerized tomography and lung function assessment; the radical control of primary neoplasm and the absence of any extrapulmonary metastases were required for thoracotomy. Pulmonary nodules were single in 21 patients (38%), multiple ipsilateral in 16 (29) and bilateral in 18 (33%). The thoracic approach was a muscle-sparing thoracotomy (axillary vertical thoracotomy) in 51 patients, other thoracotomies in 3 and a median sternotomy in 1 patient. The operative procedures were 19 single wedge resections (35%), 27 multiple wedge resections (49%), 1 lobectomy (2%), 1 lingulectomy (2%) and finally 7 exploratory thoracotomies (12%) for different reasons. In patients with bilateral disease, a bilateral synchronous thoracotomy and multiple wedge resection was performed 13 times, while staged thoracotomy was necessary in 2 and a median sternotomy was preferred in 1 case; 2 patients received a monolateral axillary exploratory thoracotomy. A total of 186 lung nodules were excised, but only in 161 (86%) the histologic examination confirm the metastasis. There was no operative mortality and the postoperative complications were few. Based on this experience, the authors believe that every neoplastic patient with pulmonary metastases, certain or suspected, should be considered for thoracotomy, since metastasectomy is a very safe procedure today.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent

[Pulmonary hamartoma].

Pulmonary hamartoma is a rare benign tumor often found by chance. Only in 10% of cases are some calcifications like "pop corn". Fibrobroncho-scopy is help only in endobronchial forms; they don't reach 10% of cases. Computed Tomography and transparietal biopsy can be diagnostic. In the uncertain cases and in presence of symptoms, thoracotomy with exeresis of tumor is justified.

Aged

[Surgery of cancer of the right colon. Analysis of 265 cases].

The analysis of 265 selected cases of right colon cancer treated over a long period of time allows a number of points to be raised. Attention is drawn to the lack of progress made in diagnostic techniques, but this is thought to be due primarily to the vagueness of symptoms and their scarse investigation rather than to limits imposed by instrumental techniques. Moreover, no real benefit would be produced by a more aggressive approach using visceral or lymphatic exeresis. An earlier diagnosis of tumours due to differentiation, slow growth and rare association with adenoma should allow more encouraging results to be achieved.

Adolescent

Osteosarcoma of the extremity metastatic at presentation: results achieved in 26 patients treated with combined therapy (primary chemotherapy followed by simultaneous resection of the primary and metastatic lesions).

From September 1986 to December 1989, 26 selected patients with high-grade osteosarcoma of the extremities metastatic at presentation were treated with primary chemotherapy (high doses of methotrexate, -cisplatinum and adriamycin) followed by surgery. Twenty-one cases underwent resections of the primary and metastatic tumor at the same time; owing to the disappearance of lung metastases after preoperative chemotherapy in 3 cases, only the primary tumor was operated on. Due to progression of the disease in 2 patients, no surgery was performed. Histologic examination of the resected specimen was performed to evaluate the percentage of necrosis produced by chemotherapy on the primary and metastatic tumor. After surgery, the patients received further chemotherapy with the same drugs used preoperatively plus ifosfamide and VP-16. The histologic response of the primary tumor was good (> 90% tumor necrosis) in 25% of the cases; in the resected metastatic nodules, 23% had good responses. A discrepancy between the histologic response of the primary and secondary tumor was observed in only 15% of the cases. These results seem to confirm the validity of the strategy (widely used today in the neoadjuvant treatment of non-metastatic osteosarcoma) of changing the postoperative treatment when the histologic response of the primary tumor is poor. At an average follow-up of 3.5 years, only 6 patients remained disease-free; 19 patients relapsed and 1 patient died for adriamycin cardiotoxicity. Of the 19 relapsed patients, 16 died and 3 are still alive but with uncontrolled disease. These results are much worse than those obtained in 144 cases of non-metastatic osteosarcoma of the extremities treated in the same period with the same preoperative chemotherapy (77% with good response in the primary tumor and 78% with continuous disease-free survival). The data suggest that a very effective neoadjuvant chemotherapy for nonmetastatic osteosarcoma of the extremities gives disappointing results in osteosarcoma of the extremities which is metastatic at presentation.

Adolescent

Primary chemotherapy and delayed surgery for osteosarcoma of the extremities with synchronous metastases.

From September 1986 to September 1989 11 patients affected by osteosarcoma of the extremities with synchronous metastases were treated with two cycles of high-dose methotrexate i.v., cisplatin i.a. and adriamycin i.v. followed by simultaneous resection of the primary and metastatic tumor. A complete histological examination of the resected specimens was always performed to evaluate the percentage of necrosis produced by chemotherapy on both the primary and metastatic tumor. After surgery the patients received 3 more cycles of the same drugs as used preoperatively plus ifosfamide. The histological response of the primary tumor was 'good' (90% or more tumor necrosis) in 4 patients and 'poor' (less than 90% of tumor necrosis) in 7, while in the 34 metastatic nodules the resulting necrosis was good in 8 and poor in 26. A good correlation between the histological response in the primary and metastatic tumor was observed, particularly for poor responders (91% of poor responses also in metastatic nodules). At an average follow-up of 42 months, only 3 patients are alive, 2 disease-free, and one with uncontrolled disease. These data suggest that the prognosis of osteosarcoma of the extremities with synchronous metastases remains poor, even with a very aggressive treatment. Our results also seem to confirm the validity of the present strategy in the treatment of non-metastatic osteosarcoma: introducing new drugs post-operatively in poor responding patients can allow a better treatment of microscopic disease and can improve the prognosis for these patients.

Adolescent

[The role of lymphadenectomy in the surgical treatment of cancer of the left colon and rectum].

The study of 89 cases of left colon and rectum cancer treated with oncology lymphectomy of II and III level, permits to confirm the main role of this surgical practice for a right tumoral stadiation. It's also confirmed the therapeutic role of lymphectomy with a 5 years follow-up, with a rescue of C1 cases, without a significative advantage of the extension to the III level.

Adenocarcinoma

[Iterative pulmonary metastasis. Considerations on 28 surgically treated cases].

Among 94 cases of pulmonary metastases treated by the exeresis of one or more nodules, 28 cases produced metastasis located in the lung only. Radical metastasectomy was performed on 250. Analysis of survival, also assessed in relation to every prognostic factor reveals the efficacy of surgical therapy even in iterative metastasectomy.

Adolescent

Metastatic patterns in osteosarcoma.

The clinical courses of 193 patients with high-grade, non-metastatic osteosarcoma were reviewed to ascertain the evolution of the natural history of the disease. All patients had the primary lesion in the extremities and were treated at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute between 1976 and 1982 with surgery alone (30 cases) or surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy (163 cases). All patients were regularly followed at our Institute. One hundred and fourteen patients, of which 27 were treated with surgery alone and 87 treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, developed overt metastatic disease. No differences were found concerning the sites of the first relapse which, for approximately 90% of cases, were lungs in both groups. However, in the group of patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy the development of overt metastatic disease, as compared to non-adjuvant patients, was delayed with time (13 vs 8 months) and the number of metastatic nodules in the lung at first relapse was reduced. This alteration in metastatic pattern due to adjuvant chemotherapy is important because it allows surgical resection of pulmonary metastases in a larger number of patients (51% vs 29%).

Adult