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Biomedical subjects

A Volpi

Publications and source records attributed to A Volpi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

In vitro potentiation by lonidamine of the cytotoxic effect of adriamycin on primary and established breast cancer cell lines.

Lonidamine is a new potential chemotherapeutic agent, relatively non-toxic, that can positively modulate the efficacy of several antineoplastic drugs. We evaluated the response of two established human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and BRC-230) and of 20 primary breast cancer cell lines to lonidamine, either alone or in combination with adriamycin, the drug most widely used in the management of breast cancer. Different schedules were tested by varying either concentration of the drugs (LND: 10-150 micrograms/ml; ADM: 0.10-0.15 micrograms/ml), or time of exposure (1-96 hours), or sequence of administration (ADM-->LND; LND-->ADM; ADM+LND). Our results indicate slight sensitivity of the cell lines to lonidamine when used alone, whereas an increase of efficacy was noted when lonidamine was added for at least 24 hours after a 4 hour exposure to adriamycin. Such efficacy was significantly greater than that expected from an additive effect between the two drugs. We conclude that lonidamine, when given according to an appropriate schedule, enhances, in vitro, the efficacy of adriamycin. A correct employment of lonidamine in the management of breast cancer might therefore potentiate the therapeutic effect of adriamycin.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1992

Chronic dialysis in patients with systemic amyloidosis: the experience in northern Italy.

The clinical outcome of 61 patients with renal amyloidosis treated with chronic dialysis was reviewed. Eighteen patients, 4 with primary or AL amyloidosis and 14 with reactive or AA amyloidosis, died within one month from starting treatment. The other 43 patients were treated with dialysis for 3 to 199 months and are the object of this study. Sixteen patients had AL amyloidosis and 27 had AA amyloidosis. Thirty-five patients were treated with hemodialysis (HD) for a mean period of 40 +/- 47 months and 8 were treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for 20 +/- 15 months. Patient survival rate at 1 and 5 years was 68% and 30% respectively. There was no difference in survival rate between patients treated with HD and those treated with CAPD, while patients younger than 45 had a better 5-year survival rate. Twenty four (60%) patients achieved a satisfactory rehabilitation with dialysis. At the last follow-up, 15 patients (14 on HD, 1 on CAPD) were alive 61 +/- 58 months after starting dialysis. Twenty-eight patients died after 30 +/- 20 months. The main causes of death were: cardiovascular accident (11), stroke (3), sepsis (5) and cachexia (5). The most important extra-renal complications of amyloidosis were related to cardiovascular involvement (heart failures, arrhythmias, hypotension) and gastrointestinal involvement (malabsorption). Intra-dialytic hypotension in patients on HD and peritonitis in patients on CAPD were the main problems related to dialytic procedure. his study confirms that life expectancy and the quality of life of dialysis patients with systemic amyloidosis are poorer than those of general dialysis population.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amyloidosis↗
PubMed1991

An efficient method for culturing human breast epithelium: analysis of results.

We have examined the possibility of obtaining primary cultures from breast tissue utilizing a method especially developed for breast epithelium. The number of specimens able to grow in culture was very high: 82.8%, 64.3%, 75.0% and 77.8%, respectively, for primary breast cancer, skin recurrences, inflammatory breast cancer and normal breast tissue. In our experience, growth was not related to menopausal status or histopathologic type, whereas for skin recurrences, a prior pharmacologic treatment (chemotherapy) of the patient enhanced the growth capacity of the tissue. This culture method could help to study the basic biology of breast epithelia and to improve the chemotherapy approach of breast cancer patients.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

[Effect of the resection margin and the extrarectal spread on the recurrence following 2 types of surgical procedures in rectal cancer].

A prospective unrandomized clinical study was conducted to determine the incidence of local recurrences after radical surgery and to ascertain whether the anterior resection could be an effective approach in cases of the tumours of the rectum, also in presence of the unsatisfied distal clearance and the extraparietal spread. For this purpose the length of the rectum below the tumor, mesorectum included, was cut in little cubes of 1 square cm and 10 microslices/cm at random were histologically examined to locate the intramural diffusion and extraparietal spread. Sixty-one patients undergoing curative surgery for rectal cancer entered the trial. Thirty-seven of them have been operated on by anterior resections (AR) and twenty-four by abdominal-perineal amputation. Thirteen local recurrences (21.3%) have been recorded during a five-year follow-up: 9 after AR and 4 after Miles operation. Nine relapses were among the cases with distal clearance less than 3 cm an eight of these have undergone anterior resections. No recurrence was seen in cases with distal clearance greater than 5 cm. Spread was found in 11 (18%) patients. Five recurrences were recorded all belonging to the group with anterior resection. No statistical difference exists between conservative surgical procedure and abdominal-perineal operation. We have been able to demonstrate only the direct relationship between relapse and Dukes C stage after curative rectal surgery.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1991

[Leiomyoma of the esophagus compressing the left atrium].

An unusual case of leiomyoma of the middle third of the esophagus compressing the left atrium is reported. The patient was a 35-year-old man with a clinical picture mimicking pericarditis. 2-D echocardiography revealed a mediastinal mass. Leiomyoma of the esophagus was suspected on the basis of CT scan of the chest, MR study and esophagogram. The diagnosis was confirmed at operation and by histological examination.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide in non-small cell lung carcinoma. A phase II randomized study with cisplatin and etoposide as the control arm.

A Phase II randomized study testing the combination of cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide (PEI) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was performed. The standard combination of cisplatin and etoposide (PE) was used as the control arm. Since January 1987, 78 patients were enrolled and then stratified for previous treatments and performance status (PS). The response rate (RR) of PEI was 26% (95% confidence limits [95 CL], 12% to 40%), with one complete response (CR). The RR of PE was 26% (95 CL, 13% to 39%), with no CR. The median response duration was 5 months (range, 2 to 13 months) for PEI and 4 months (range, 2 to 6 months) for PE. The median survival time was 6 months (range, 1 to 22+ months) for PEI and 7 months (range, 1 to 21+ months) for PE. Leukopenia at recycling was similar in both arms (25% for PEI and 29% of PE). The median leukocyte nadir was 2100/microliters (range, 430 to 4870/microliters) for PEI patients and 3150/microliters (range, 500 to 5000/microliters) for PE patients. Three patients had a drug-related death secondary to infections. This Phase II randomized study suggested that the combination of cisplatin plus etoposide and ifosfamide produces results similar to those obtainable with cisplatin and etoposide.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1990

Preliminary correlations of clinical outcome with in vitro chemosensitivity of second passage human breast cancer cells.

These studies describe the clinical correlations of 63 in vitro chemosensitivity assays on breast cancer cells after short-term monolayer culture. Forty-five of the assays were single agent correlations. Based on cut-off values determined empirically, the test accurately predicted resistance for 36 of 41 patients (88%) who did not respond to the drug. It also predicted sensitivity with a high degree of accuracy: 21 of 22 patients (95%) who responded to the drug tested had a sensitive assay. In five cases, two biopsies were evaluated from the same patient. Whenever assays were performed before and after treatment with a given drug, tumor cells from the second biopsy were more resistant in vitro if the patient failed on therapy. If the patient did not fail, but stopped therapy for other reasons, or if there was no intervening therapy with the tested drug, the two biopsies remained similar in drug sensitivity. These results suggest that in vitro chemosensitivity assays which accurately predict both sensitivity and resistance can be obtained with breast cancer cells after short-term culture and that further prospective trials are warranted.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1990

Two brothers with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and familial sensorineural deafness.

Genetic factors could play an important role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic membranous nephropathy, and a few cases of familial membranous nephropathy have been described: an increased incidence of some HLA antigens as DR3 and others has been reported. We present two brothers with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and sensorineural deafness. HLA typing was performed in the two patients and in the members of the family, and it showed the absence of linkage of an HLA antigen with the renal disease in the family.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Incidence and prognosis of secondary ventricular fibrillation in acute myocardial infarction. Evidence for a protective effect of thrombolytic therapy. GISSI Investigators.

The multicenter randomized study of the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Streptochinasi nell'Infarto Miocardico has provided the opportunity to analyze the impact of thrombolytic treatment on secondary ventricular fibrillation incidence in a large population of patients (11,712) with acute myocardial infarction. A reduction of about 20% in the frequency of secondary ventricular fibrillation was observed among patients allocated to thrombolytic treatment (streptokinase, 2.4% versus control, 2.9%; relative risk, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.00). Streptokinase appeared to exert its protective effect specifically in patients treated within 3 hours of onset of symptoms (streptokinase, 2.6% versus control, 3.7%; relative risk, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.95). This protection was essentially due to a reduced incidence of late ventricular fibrillation occurring after the first day of hospitalization. The 311 patients with secondary ventricular fibrillation represented an overall incidence of 2.7%. Such incidence was not related to infarct location or sex but was significantly more common in patients older than 65 years (3.3% versus 2.3% in younger patients). A significant excess of in-hospital deaths was found in patients with secondary ventricular fibrillation compared with those in the reference group (38% versus 24%; relative risk, 1.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.56-2.52). Conversely, secondary ventricular fibrillation was not a predictor of 1-year mortality for hospital survivors. Thrombolytic treatment with intravenous streptokinase affords protection against secondary ventricular fibrillation most probably by a limitation of infarct size. When the arrhythmia complicates the course of infarction, it is associated with an adverse short-term outcome, whereas the long-term prognosis is not influenced.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

One-year prognosis of primary ventricular fibrillation complicating acute myocardial infarction. The GISSI (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Streptochinasi nell'Infarto miocardico) investigators.

The 1-year prognosis of 293 patients discharged alive from the hospital after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), who experienced primary ventricular fibrillation (VF) in the acute phase, was compared with that of a reference group of 6,337 patients identified from the same population included in the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Streptochinasi nell'Infarto miocardico (GISSI) trial. There was no difference in the 6- and 12-month mortality between the patients with primary VF and the reference group (3.7 vs 2.7% and 4.1 vs 4.2%, respectively). Survival of the 2 groups was also similar when patients were stratified according to infarct site (anterior and posterior), and whether or not they received treatment with streptokinase during AMI. Thus, long-term mortality of patients discharged alive after AMI complicated by primary VF is low and is not influenced by previous fibrinolytic therapy or by infarct site. The excess mortality of patients with primary VF is confined to the hospital phase, after which survivors represent a low-risk subgroup.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗