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A Dueñas

Publications and source records attributed to A Dueñas.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Digitization of medical documents: an X-Windows application for fast scanning.

This paper deals with digitization, using a commercial scanner, of medical documents as still images for introduction into a computer-based Information System. Document management involves storing, editing and transmission. This task has usually been approached from the perspective of the difficulties posed by radiologic images because of their indisputable qualitative and quantitative significance. However, healthcare activities require the management of many other types of documents and involve the requirements of numerous users. One key to document management will be the availability of a digitizer to deal with the greatest possible number of different types of documents. This paper describes the relevant aspects of documents and the technical specifications that digitizers must fulfill. The concept of document type is introduced as the ideal set of digitizing parameters for a given document. The use of document type parameters can drastically reduce the time the user spends in scanning sessions. Presentation is made of an application based on Unix, X-Windows and OSF/Motif, with a GPIB interface, implemented around the document type concept. Finally, the results of the evaluation of the application are presented, focusing on the user interface, as well as on the viewing of color images in an X-Windows environment and the use of lossy algorithms in the compression of medical images.

Database Management Systems↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Suspected extragonadal germ-cell cancer syndrome presenting with an orbital mass and elevation of serum CEA, CA 19-9 and CA50 levels.

Patients with extragonadal germ-cell cancer syndrome (EGCCS) represent a subgroup of patients with poorly differentiated carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of an unknown primary site for whom potentially curative therapy is available. We report the case of a young man presenting an orbital tumor and high serum levels of CEA, CA 19-9 and CA50 for whom an initial diagnosis of metastatic poorly differentiated carcinoma was made. Suspecting EGCCS, he was treated as for a germ-cell tumor. While in treatment, he underwent residual orbital mass resection, and the histologic diagnosis was embryonal carcinoma based on alpha-fetoprotein immunoperoxidase staining. We discuss the rare location at diagnosis, the impressive increase in the commonly considered gastrointestinal markers that he showed, and the potential utility of these markers for such patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Do the conventional clinicopathologic parameters predict for response and survival in head and neck cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy?

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for head and neck carcinoma is still an important treatment modality. The prognostic value of patient and tumor parameters has been extensively evaluated in several trials, yielding mixed results. We report the prognostic factors emerging from a group of patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From April 1986 to June 1992, 149 consecutive patients received cisplatin-5-fluorouracil-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. After four courses of chemotherapy, patients underwent local-regional treatment with surgery, radiation or both. A variety of patient and tumor characteristics were evaluated as predictors for response to chemotherapy and survival. RESULTS: The complete response, partial response and no response rates to NAC were 52%, 33% and 15%, respectively. No parameters predicted response to chemotherapy. At a maximum follow-up of 87 months, overall survival was 39% and disease-free survival was 49%. Variables shown to be predictors of survival in univariate analyses were age, performance status, histology, site, T, N, stage, and response to chemotherapy. Using the Cox regression analysis, only complete response to induction chemotherapy (P = 0.0006), performance status (P = 0.03), stage (P = 0.01), age (P = 0.03) and primary tumor site (P = 0.04) emerged as independent prognostic factors for survival. CONCLUSIONS: Complete response to chemotherapy was confirmed as the strongest prognostic factor influencing survival. However, conventional clinicopathologic factors did not predict response, hence, potential prognostic biologic and molecular factors for response must be sought. At present, much effort must be made for the improvement of the complete response rate, which seems to be a requisite to prolong survival.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A case of bilateral seminoma in the setting of persistent mullerian duct syndrome.

We are reporting on the case of a 46XY male patient that presented a bilateral testicular seminoma in the setting of bilateral cryptorchidia and left inguinal hernia. The patient received five courses of cisplatin/ciclophosphamide followed by 3,000 cGy of radiation. The patient then, underwent resection of the residual mass and of an unrecognizable pelvic structure. The histopathological analysis revealed necrosis of the residual seminoma and an atrophic uterus. Currently, the patient is alive and asymptomatic at 88 months of follow-up. This is the third case reported of a patient with persistent mullerian duct syndrome and bilateral seminoma.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗