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Biomedical subjects

A Steinfeld

Publications and source records attributed to A Steinfeld.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Controversies in management of stages I and II testicular seminomas.

The general success in treating seminoma (Stages I and II) of the testicle has prompted questions regarding the extent of treatment that these patients require. We reviewed 79 patients treated at NYU/Bellevue Medical Center from 1965 to 1984 to establish a data base from which the controversies surrounding this disease can be viewed. Standard treatment involved a radical inguinal orchiectomy as primary therapy. Stage I patients received adjuvant radiation to para-aortic and ipsilateral iliac nodes, with additional radiation given routinely to the mediastinum of patients with Stage II disease. No major complications were observed. All Stage I patients remain free of recurrent tumor with a median follow-up of eight years. There were 4 deaths from seminoma among the Stage II patients. The use of prophylactic mediastinal radiation for Stage II patients, and observation only for Stage I patients are reviewed in light of our results and other published series. While early evidence suggests that both approaches may be reasonable, their adoption awaits confirmation by prospective trial.

Cobalt Radioisotopes

Carcinoid of the cervix: natural history and implications for therapy.

Carcinoid tumors rarely occur in the cervix. We present a patient with FIGO stage IB disease who developed brain metastases 4 years after initial diagnosis and treatment. The clinical course of a collected series of patients with carcinoid of the cervix is reviewed. Even patients with low stage lesions frequently die of disseminated disease. Adjuvant chemotherapy may have a role in the treatment of such patients.

Adult

Practice patterns of palliative care for the United States 1984-1985.

This study reports the national averages for patterns of palliative radiation therapy observed in the United States for patients treated in 1984-1985 and compares those patterns to the pertinent literature. The data were collected in 1984-1985 by the Patterns of Care Study Survey of Palliative Care conducted in 49 institutions selected to provide valid national averages for the practice patterns reported. Data were collected from 784 patient records selected from five "strata" of practice. Demographic data and process data were tabulated and national averages were calculated from the data. Four metastatic sites were selected, weight bearing bones (401), non-weight bearing bones (102), brain metastasis (224), and lung-mediastinum (57). The median patient age was 63 years, equally divided by sex. In 52% of patients this was the first metastasis. Common Karnofsky performance scores ranged from 40 to 80%. Lung, breast, and prostate were the most common primaries. Two-thirds of the patients were treated by linear accelerators, one-third by cobalt. The median number of fractions was 10, median dose 3000 cGy, median fraction size 300 cGy, and median treatment duration 15 days. The goal of treatment was relief of pain (98%) and return of function (30%) for weight bearing bones, for brain metastasis it was preservation of function (68%), pain relief (33%), and relief of compression (25%). All sites showed TDF values that ranged from 33-85, and a TDF of approximately 65 was most common for weight bearing bones and brain metastasis with no consistent pattern of TDF selection for the other sites. Compliance by strata of practice with work-up criteria was excellent with isolated poor compliance seen in several strata.

Age Factors

Brain metastases from ovarian cancer.

Brain metastasis from ovarian carcinoma is a relatively rare phenomenon. At NYU Medical Center five patients were treated for this entity from 1982 to 1985. The stage at presentation ranged from stage I to stage III, and all patients had received or were receiving chemotherapy. Two patients had active disease elsewhere at diagnosis of brain metastasis, but three patients were otherwise NED. Three patients had solitary cerebellar disease, and two patients had multiple lesions. All patients were treated with whole brain radiotherapy to 3,000 cGy, with neurological improvement in three of the five patients. The central nervous system may need special consideration for prophylactic treatment in those patients with ovarian cancer who receive adjuvant chemotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma

Incidence of developmental handicaps among the offspring of men treated for testicular seminoma.

Although the issue of fertility in patients successfully treated for testicular seminoma seems to be resolved, it remains to be determined whether these patients can father normal, healthy children. At NYU Medical Center we have surveyed the patients treated between 1969 and 1984 who were treated with radiotherapy for testicular seminomas. The survey requested information regarding the qualitative development in offspring produced before and after radiation treatments. In the 33 patients responding we were unable to find any detrimental effect, either emotionally, physically, or developmentally in offspring sired by fathers following radiation therapy for testicular seminoma.

Developmental Disabilities

Radiotherapeutic prophylaxis of estrogen-induced gynecomastia: a study of late sequela.

Radiation therapy is an effective means of preventing the development of hormone-induced gynecomastia in men with cancer of the prostate. The efficacy and morbidity of this type of radiation was studied in a retrospective analysis of 87 patients referred for treatment from 1972 to 1982. Patients receiving DES as treatment for prostate carcinoma were treated with irradiation to the breast tissue. Patients were treated with 4 MV, 60Co superficial X rays. Doses range from 1200 to 1500 cGy in 3 fractions. The majority of patients had satisfactory results in terms of prevention of gynecomastia and mammalgia. There were few acute reactions noted and no evidence of long term sequela.

Aged

Renal angiosarcoma.

Renal angiosarcoma, an uncommon vascular sarcoma, is primarily treated surgically. We present a patient who, at nephrectomy, had tumor adherent to the diaphragm and renal artery. Postoperative radiation was given to the renal fossa. Despite the subsequent development of bone and liver metastases, disease in the renal fossa was apparently controlled. Symptomatic bone lesions were effectively palliated with radiotherapy. This report confirms those of others suggesting that angiosarcoma does respond to radiation.

Bone Neoplasms

Carcinomatous meningitis from transitional cell carcinoma of bladder.

The following case report presents a patient with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder referred to this medical center after carcinomatous meningitis developed. Previously he had undergone surgical resection of the primary lesion and had received cis-platinum chemotherapy for lung metastasis. This unusual presentation of metastatic disease (carcinomatous meningitis) seems to alert the surgical and medical communities to new complications.

Carcinoma, Transitional Cell