Biomedical subjects

C Polico

Publications and source records attributed to C Polico.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Controversies in diagnostic approaches to the indeterminate follicular thyroid nodule.

In this paper we review the controversies in diagnostic approaches to follicular thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology. The authors consider some of the controversies surrounding the indeterminate follicular thyroid nodule, including the definition and the postoperative outcome. Among the techniques that may improve preoperative diagnostic accuracy are large needle aspiration biopsy and immunohistochemistry for galectin-3.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular↗

PubMed2005

Axillary sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer: a single lymphatic pathway drains the entire mammary gland.

AIM: To report the pattern of lymphatic mapping following intrasubdermal injections of radiocolloid and of blue dye in different sites of the breast. METHODS: Prior to surgery 137 breast cancer patients underwent intrasubdermal injection of 30-50 MBq 99mTc-colloidal albumin over the tumour site (ISI group). Ten minutes before surgery, 2 ml patent blue was injected in the subareolar area (SAI group) in 117/137 patients, while 20 patients received intrasubdermal blue-dye in the quadrant opposite the tumour site (OQI group). The different injection routes were considered concordant when the hottest sLN was also blue. RESULTS: In 134/137 patients radiocolloid drained to one or more axillary nodes, while blue nodes were found in 98/117 SAI patients and in 17/20 OQI patients. Multiple hot nodes were found in 63/134 cases and multiple blue nodes in 35/115. In patients in whom both tracers reached the axilla, the hottest node was also blue in 108/115 cases (93/98 SAI and 15/17 OQI patients). In the seven discordant cases, the hottest node was not blue, but in two cases the blue node was also radioactive. CONCLUSIONS: Superficial lymphatic drainage from the breast most frequently merges to a single axillary lymph node, irrespective of the site of tracer injection. In a few cases different injection sites identify different, often closely interconnected sLNs.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Dislocation of small bowel volume within box pelvic treatment fields, using new "up down table" device.

PURPOSE: To present the impact of a novel minimization device, the up down table (UDT), on the volume of small bowel included within a 4-field pelvic irradiation plan. METHODS: A polystyrene bowel displacement standard mold was created and added to a customized vacuum cushion (Vac Lok) formed around the abdomen and legs of each patient in the prone position. Two hundred seventy-seven consecutive patients with pelvic malignancies treated with the UDT device were compared with 1 historic series (68 cases) treated at our division. Small bowel contrast dyes at the time of simulation were used in all patients. RESULTS: The average volume of small bowel within the planning target volume (high-dose volume, calculated with Gallagher method) was 100 cm(3) (median 49 +/- 114) in the series treated with standard box technique and 23 cm(3) (median 0 +/- 64) in the series treated with the UDT (p < 0.001). The average volume of small bowel included in any isodose (any-dose volume) was 505 cm(3) (median 447 +/- 338) and 158 cm(3) (median 69 +/- 207), respectively (p < 0.001). The incidence of G1, G2, and G3 acute enteric toxicity (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group criteria) in the UDT series was 16%, 15%, and 1.5%; in the standard box technique, it was 28%, 25%, and 3%, respectively (p < 0.05). The incidence of acute enteric toxicity directly correlated with the irradiated small bowel volume. In the UDT series, the 5-year actuarial incidence of G3 chronic enteric toxicity was 1.8%. The setup procedures, analyzed in 18 cases, revealed no systematic errors and a standard deviation equal to +/-5 mm for random errors. CONCLUSIONS: The UDT technique is comfortable, inexpensive, highly reproducible, and permits an almost full bowel displacement from standard radiotherapy fields.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1995

[Quality control in radiotherapy. Computerized management of the "total" oncologic follow-up].

Since 1992, in the Rovigo Radiotherapy Department, we have computerized the management of oncologic follow-up to minimize all "non-medical" times during the different phases. System efficiency was analyzed and the results follow: 1) the absolute number of follow-up visits, compared with the standard reference year (1991), shows that we were able to double our "performance" within the time unit, with the same "resources"; 2) the average number of follow-up visits per malignancy within 6 months of the diagnosis and then every seventh month, approximated to the number of scheduled visits; 3) the number of cancer relapses in the patients who could not be submitted to a specific antiblastic treatment (a reversed efficacy indicators) progressively reduced from 13.7% to 12.6% and 10.4% respectively, in 1992, 1993 and 1994; 4) secondary lesion diagnosis, an indirect efficacy parameter, was found to be accurate; 5) the cost of follow-up per malignancy reduced, in 6 months' periods, especially in the cancers with easier clinical diagnosis (-32% for breast cancer, -50% for head and neck cancer), by as much as 43,639,000 Italian liras in 1994 (relative to 1993); 6) the scheduled visits began only 12 minutes late, as studied on 2,346 visits. To conclude, the computed management of medical records improves our Department's efficiency, with no additional cost for the patients.

Efficiency, Organizational↗

PubMed1987

[Cyclophosphamide and total lymph node irradiation as conditioning for bone marrow transplant in severe aplastic anemia].

Personal experience is outlined with a preparative regimen consisting of total nodal irradiation (TNI) and cyclophosphamide in patients with severe aplastic anemia undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Nine patients (median age 23) previously having blood transfusions received BMT at the BMT Center in Pesaro. All patients were prepared for transplantation with cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg/day (day -6, -5, -4, -3), and 7.5 Gy total nodal irradiation day -1, with a dose rate of 26 cGy/m. Six out of eight evaluable transplanted patients are still surviving 3 to 23 months with a median follow-up of 16.5 months. This preoperative regimen is extremely effective in decreasing rejection following transplantation for severe aplastic anemia. Future investigation must be aimed at the elimination of graft-versus-host-disease and control of fatal infections.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1987

[Laser-photo-radiotherapy in the treatment malignant tumors].

Photoradiation therapy or, as more recently defined, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been effective in the treatment of several kinds of cancers, above all of the skin, lung, esophagus and bladder. It is based on the preferential retention by tumor and photosensitizing properties of certain porphyrins. We began to investigate this technique experimentally in 1978 and clinically in september 1982, with report of the initial results in 38 patients in 1985. In this paper we describe our more recent experience of PDT in 18 patients affected by different tumors and treated with a new double argon-dye laser system. These tumors included 8 carcinomas of the esophagus, 5 basal cell skin cancers, 2 carcinomas of the lung, 2 squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity and 1 early gastric cancer. Clinical results and technical problems of PDT are discussed.

Hematoporphyrin Photoradiation↗

PubMed1987

[Natural history of cancer of the breast. Probability of developing bone metastases].

The incidence of bone metastases in 448 patients with breast cancer was evaluated. 374 out of 448 cases showed negative bone scan at initial clinical staging and were followed up during a period of at least 5 years with serial bone scans. The results of bone scans were compared on the basis of clinical stage (according to the International UICC classification), of lymph node involvement (groups N0, N + ) and of complementary therapy after surgery (radiotherapy v/s hormone-chemotherapy). Cumulative probability of bone metastases in breast cancer showed a linear trend with annual mean rate of 5% (1st yr 2%; 2nd yr 8%; 3rd yr 15%; 4th yr 22%; 5th yr 29%; 10th yr 59%). Statistical analysis in different clinical stages showed mild difference not statistically significant, neither in lymph node involvement (NO v/s N + ) nor in complementary therapy (radiotherapy v/s hormone-chemotherapy).

Bone Neoplasms↗

PubMed1986

Steward's midline granuloma. A case report.

Steward's type of neoplastic disease is rare. Much has been discussed on the histopathology of this granuloma. Most authors define it as a neoplasm of the lymphoid system, and it is a subgroup of the "midline granuloma syndrome". We report a case of a 19-year-old first treated with chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide and prednisone) and then with radiotherapy, with good results.

Adult↗

PubMed1984