Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in a passerine bird: the reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C Zanon.
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The paper reports a rare case of malignant ileal schwannoma. A review of the most recent literature confirms the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures used by the authors. Minimal resection or necessary resection in relation to the site and local situation are the only real therapy apart from palliative surgery. It is vital to identify any possible polycentric manifestation since schwannoma is often associated with Recklinghausen's disease. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are completely ineffective. Responses were obtained in around 30% of cases in the most common trials; the gastrointestinal localization also appears to be even less responsive. The most active drugs are decarbazine, doxorubicin and ifosfamide, associated with CIVADIC or MAID polychemotherapy protocols. It is often difficult to diagnose malignancy; the overall survival rate (taking grading into account) is 7-10% after 10 years and 50% after 5 years for those forms with the lowest degree of malignancy. Antoni classified schwannoma into: type A with a solid component, and type B with a microcystic component. Treatment and prognosis are identical.
We here describe our experience of the treatment of "breast cancer" in the elderly. The results in this group of patients (37 over 75 years) are like the younger group if: the local control is done; hormonotherapy is prescribed; chemotherapy is done even in the 70-80-year-old group. If a radical mastectomy isn't impossible in the patients over 80, even a simple mastectomy is safe. In this patients a conservative local treatment of the breast is not mandatory. Our over-75-year-old patients have no psychological problem related to mastectomy. They often don't accept obligatory radiotherapy after the conservative treatment of breast cancer, and moreover the breast cancer in the elderly is usual smaller, fibrotic and bigger than 3 cm. Lymph nodal status isn't important for overall survival, but only for the eventual chemotherapeutic treatment, so in patients over 80 year-old simple mastectomy is sufficient because we don't use chemotherapy for the general conditions of the same. The local control of axillary lymph nodes is obtained with radiotherapy if necessary. Screening for breast cancer must also include 70-75-year-old patients. Why is the breast cancer in elderly like the others patients? Some authors have seen that the immuno-reaction around the cancer in elderly is less than the same reaction observed in younger patients. So in the elderly there is a smaller production of "growth factors" important for the growth of the tumor and of "angiogenesis factor", fundamental for the initial growth of the cancer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The most commonly used methods of hernia repair are either Bassini repair or modifications of Bassini repair in fact each sutures, with different methods, the three anatomical coats (transversalis fascia, transversus abdominis and internal oblique muscles, external oblique muscle aponeuroses). Here we propose a different operative technique that sutures only two aponeurotic coats (transversalis fascia and over external oblique muscle aponeuroses). The second sutured coat supports the posterior wall of the inguinal canal. Between 1984 and 1989 we operated about 1100 patients with this method and the recurrence rate is in accordance with the incidence of the other usual types of hernia repair.
Accidental iatrogenic injuries of ureters and bladder in patients with abdominal and pelvic pathology are described as a possible lesion of a surgical or gynaecologic treatment. The ureteral lesion is less frequent in obstetric surgery, but the young age of the patients and the gravity of the consequences, impose a very serious problem for a early diagnosis with a conservative surgical treatment. On the contrary, this important injury, bears an important surgical management with possible functional damage of the reno-urinary tract. The Authors report the experience about the observation and treatment of a case of a young woman, 29 years old, who had a uretero-uterine fistula, after a cesarean section for the first pregnancy.
The great interest in early breast cancer is caused by hope in the future of treating especially early cancers, extending the indications to a local conservative treatment of the breast with a more and more efficient general treatment. The GIVIO work has proved that the major part of Italian surgeons and gynaecologist don't accept the FIGO protocol. We report our experience (similar to the major part of general surgical division like GIVIO experience) and our results. W. Wood, at ASCO 1991, has indicated the role and optimal techniques for breast conservation in early breast cancer. New lines and our experience have induced us to draw up a new protocol in early breast cancer: we did not carry out Halsted mastectomy because a local invasion of muscle or muscle aponeurosis are treated with local excision and radiotherapy; if the tumour's size is more than 3 cm we did a radical mastectomy because like many authors these cancers have a worse prognosis; under 3 cm we carried out the lumpectomy with the techniques indicated by W. Wood at ASCO 91; we remove the lymph nodes of level 3 only if the axillary lymph nodes are clinically suspected. So we think the same results of local and general control with a lower morbidity are obtained; we are considering introducing neoadjuvant chemotherapy, to increase the indication for a breast conservation treatment.
The Authors consider the quantity of CEA-AFP-MCA-CA 125 measurements performed by their laboratory during ten months in 1989-90: 1.000 for CEA, 500 for AFP, 52 for MCA, 36 for CA 125. The observation of scarce significance (especially for CEA and AFP) has, in this case, only a statistical sense, depending on the unknown motivation of the analysis requests. They also observe greater significance of MCA and CA 125 measurements, and they underline the necessity to correlate requests, clinical situations and results, according on their peculiar purpose: to verify the reliability of the demands in order to value the validity of the markers, avoiding useless and not specific data for a better monitoring of the neoplastic patient.
The paper describes the authors' personal experience of the use of tumour markers, above all during postoperative follow-up as well as during the evaluation of the response to adjuvant and other forms of chemotherapy. The authors affirm that the use of these markers is fundamental for a correct evaluation and rapid treatment, above all in the identification and treatment of recidivation.
The Authors present a case of bile peritonitis due to a biliary fistula developed after T tube removal from the common bile duct. Highlighting poor clinical manifestations they report an alternative conservative treatment, by drainage of the bile leakage with culdocenthesis and successive endoscopic spincterotomy and transpapillary drainage.
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A radioimmunoassay is described for the determination of morphine and morphine-like substances in plasma, serum, biological fluids and tissue homogenates using an antiserum to morphine-6-hemisuccinyl-BSA and 125I-morphine as the labelled tracer. In the B/F separation with ammonium sulphate, calcium sulphate was added to make the precipitate more compact. Some parameters related to the use of this method in direct assay on plasma, serum, other biological fluids and tissue homogenates were evaluated.
PURPOSE: We present the technique and the preliminary results of percutaneous implantation of intraarterial catheters connected to a subcutaneous infusion reservoir for prolonged regional chemotherapy of hepatic and extrahepatic tumors. METHODS: Two hundred patients with primary or secondary hepatic neoplasms, pelvic, pancreatic, renal, lingual, and breast cancer underwent the procedure. The access was the left axillary artery (188 patients) and the femoral artery (12 patients). The catheter tip was placed in the hepatic (170 patients), hypogastric (18), splenic (4), internal thoracic (2), gastroduodenal (3), renal (2) or the external carotid artery (1). The catheter was connected to a subcutaneous reservoir and filled with heparin; chemotherapeutic infusion was subsequently started. RESULTS: One hundred percent immediate technical success was obtained. Forty-three of 200 (21.5%) patients had a complication: 29 patients had a catheter dislodgment, nine had arterial thrombosis, three had a pseudoaneurysm of the left axillary artery and two had a port pocket hematoma. Most complications (37/43, 86%) were treated percutaneously without interruption of chemotherapy. In only six cases (3% of the total population) was chemotherapy discontinued due to the complication itself. The mean duration of catheter patency was 7.2 months. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous placement of an intraarterial catheter is feasible and causes less discomfort to the patient than the surgical approach. The technique has an acceptable complication rate (21.5%), similar to that for surgical implantation (17.8%), with the advantage that in most cases the complications can be resolved percutaneously. This technique represents an alternative to surgical implantation in the treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer and opens new therapeutic possibilities for the local prolonged treatment of other kinds of tumor, though its clinical efficacy must be assessed in selected trials.
ChemoHyperthermic Peritoneal Perfusion (CHPP) after cytoreductive surgery is a relatively new procedure in the treatment of abdominal carcinomatosis or sarcomatosis. An assessment of the CHPP technique performed on 20 patients suffering from abdominal malignancies was carried out. After surgical debulking and gastrointestinal anastomosis, two Tenckhoff catheters were positioned for the immediate performance of CHPP, which was carried out at 42-43 degrees C for 1 h, after closing the abdomen. In 19 assessable patients, 47.3% and 36.8% complete responses (CR) were recorded at 1 and 6 months, respectively, with responses of 37.5% in patients affected with gastrointestinal cancer and 50% in patients affected with ovarian cancer. CR were obtained only in patients who had undergone accurate peritoneal debulking. Survival rate for gastrointestinal and ovarian cancer was 68% at 12 months. Patients who underwent radical cytoreductive surgery are all alive at a follow-up median time of 17 months. Two anastomotic leakages with spontaneous recovery were observed, along with one hydrothorax, which was immediately drained during the procedure, three cases of chemotherapic gastrointestinal toxicity, one sepsis, one renal failure that required a transient dialysis, and one cholecystitis that required cholecystectomy. One patient died 30 days after CHPP of a cardiac ischaemia not strictly related to the surgical procedure. In the authors' experience, CHPP with closed abdomen after reconstructive gastrointestinal surgery is a safe and feasible treatment with acceptable side effects.
BACKGROUND: Hepatic artery infusion is the best choice of treatment for colorectal liver metastases, but it could be suggested for other hepatic tumors or locally advanced pancreatic cancer. The need of a laparotomy for the positioning of the arterial catheter has been the limiting factor for the diffusion of regional treatments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 170 patients suffering from primary or secondary liver tumours and pancreatic or bile ducts cancer, underwent the positioning of intra-arterial hepatic part-a-cath by a transcutaneous subclavian access in local anaesthesia. In 163 patients, a catheter was placed into the hepatic artery, 4 into the splenic and 3 into the gastroduodenal artery. RESULTS: The procedure was performed successfully in all patients. We observed 5 aneurysms of the subclavian artery and 9 thrombosis of the hepatic artery. Only in 7 patients was arterial infusion suspended for technical complications. We observed 10.6% of dislocation, but dislodged catheters were always moved again into the hepatic artery. CONCLUSIONS: The development of percutaneous techniques of arterial port-a-cath implantation could enlarge the indication of regional chemotherapy.
Myelolipoma is a rare benign pathology whose pathogenesis is still unclear. It is most frequently localised in the adrenal gland, followed by the presacral region, mediastinum, and perirenal and hepatic region. It varies in size from a few millimetres to several centimetres. The lesion is usually capsulated, detachable from the surrounding tissues and hypovascularised. In histological terms, it is composed of lipomatous and hematopoietic tissues. A 65-year-old female patient was referred to our unit after the finding of a nonbiopsied, pelvic mass during earlier surgery. The patient was in considerable pain owing to the extrinsic compression of the mass on abdominal and pelvic organs. Preoperative tests confirmed the presence of a voluminous presacral neoformation that appeared to have a possible medullary origin (chordoma or schwannoma). During surgery, the lesion was found to be capsulated and mainly adherent to the rectum. Histological analysis confirmed the myelolipomatous nature of the lesion. A review of 21 cases reported in the literature is presented.
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This is a case of spontaneous regression of a tumour. Only the French Authors speak about this type of seminoma called them "seminome cicatrice". Probably the immunological defences are fundamental for the complete or partial spontaneous resolution of this type of tumour. Here we describe our clinical and surgical approach. The last control was normal with a relapse-free patient.
BACKGROUND: Personal experience concerning the treatment of 8 patients with infrarenal aortic aneurysms associated with extravascular non-neoplastic abdominal diseases is presented. METHODS AND RESULTS: In all 7 cases which underwent combined surgical procedures (aneury-smectomy + cholecystectomy in 4 patients and aneurysmectomy + groin hernia repair in 3 patients) early and late postoperative complications were not recorded. CONCLUSIONS: The main therapeutic guidelines concerning the pathologic association of infrarenal aortic aneurysms associated with extravascular non-neoplastic abdominal diseases are discussed on the basis of a literature review and of personal experience.