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Domenico Angelucci

Publications and source records attributed to Domenico Angelucci.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Changes of topoisomerase IIalpha expression in breast tumors after neoadjuvant chemotherapy predicts relapse-free survival.

PURPOSE: To assess the value of changes in the expression of topoisomerase IIalpha (TopoII) and the proto-oncogene erbB-2 (HER-2) as predictors of relapse-free survival in women with operable breast cancer treated with anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy-seven patients with primary breast cancer who had undergone neoadjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy were included in the present study. TopoII and HER-2 were measured by immunohistochemistry in prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy (at the time of surgery) tumor specimens, and the value of their changes as predictors of relapse-free survival were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses. RESULTS: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy resulted in a significant reduction in the percentage of cells expressing TopoII (P < 0.0001). No significant change was observed for HER-2. TopoII and HER-2 expression before chemotherapy predicted tumor response to treatment. Changes in TopoII expression after chemotherapy were strongly associated with a poor relapse-free survival (P < 0.0001) in a Cox multivariate analysis adjusted for other clinicopathologic prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Changes in TopoII expression after anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an independent predictor of a poor relapse-free survival in patients with breast cancer. Tumor cells displaying an increased TopoII expression after treatment may be responsible for relapses, and may, therefore, define a group of patients with anthracycline-resistant breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Left ventricular wall stress as a direct correlate of cardiomyocyte apoptosis in patients with severe dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Apoptosis has been implicated as a possible mechanism in the development of heart failure (HF), but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. In patients with severe dilated cardiomyopathy, we evaluated cardiomyocyte apoptosis in relation to the transmural distribution of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins (2 molecules inhibiting or promoting apoptosis, respectively) and left ventricular wall stresses. METHODS: We studied the presence and distribution of cardiomyocyte apoptosis in 90 tissue samples obtained from 8 patients who were undergoing left ventricular reduction with the Batista (ventricular remodeling) operation. Apoptosis was assessed in tissue samples taken from the entire left ventricular thickness (subdivided in subepicardial, midmyocardial, and subendocardial sections) with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) technique and DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. The expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins were determined with both Western analysis and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: TUNEL-positive cells (apoptotic index) were 2.3% +/- 1.4%. Apoptotic cells were predominantly distributed in the subendocardium, where higher levels of Bax protein were detected. The ratio of Bax to Bcl-2 proteins (Bax/Bcl-2) was similar in the midmyocardium or subepicardium, but increased in the subendocardium, where it was directly related to systolic wall stress (y = 0.009x - 0.629; r2 = 0.85, P <.001). The apoptotic index was also directly related to systolic and end-diastolic stresses calculated from hemodynamic and echocardiographic data (r2 = 0.77, P <.001 and r2 = 0.40, P <.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, in whom cardiomyocyte apoptosis is an important cause of cell loss, apoptosis is more extensively localized in the subendocardium and strictly related to ventricular wall stresses and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epithelioid angiosarcoma of the gallbladder: case report.

A patient with epithelioid angiosarcoma of the gallbladder is described. This is only the second case of an extremely rare but highly aggressive tumor reported in the international literature. Pathophysiological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects are discussed in relation to the available data on angiosarcomas of the gallbladder.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Common variable immunodeficiency and eosinophilic fasciitis.

The association of eosinophilic fasciitis and immunological defects is rare, especially hypogammaglobulinemia. We report a case of eosinophilic fasciitis occurring in a female, 53 years old, with common variable immunodeficiency. The diagnosis of common variable immunodeficiency was established by chance observation of persistently low levels of all immunoglobulin classes unrelated to protein loss or immunosuppressive treatment, one year after the appearance of eosinophilic fasciitis, which is usually characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia. Our description may prompt the investigation of an increased rate of simultaneous occurrence of eosinophilic fasciitis and common variable immunodeficiency.

Agammaglobulinemia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Thyroid metastasis from renal carcinoma. Clinical case].

Metastatic thyroid tumours are uncommon among reported clinical cases, but are more frequent in autopsy series. The most common sites of the primary tumours are the breast (21%), kidney (12%) and lung (11%) and in some cases are detected only at autopsy. The clinical presence of thyroid tumefaction, whether associated or not with compressive symptoms, in a patient with a history of surgical treatment for renal cell carcinoma should lead to the suspicion of a metastatic nodule. The most important diagnostic technique is cytological examination after fine needle aspiration biopsy, combined with immunohistochemical staining. Total thyroidectomy, whether associated or not with radiation therapy, is the procedure of choice in these cases, when possible, above all in the presence of regional symptoms. In spite of treatment, however, the prognosis of metastatic disease is very poor. Therapeutic measures allow a mean survival of 34 months in the various reported series. The authors report the case of a 66-year-old female patient who had undergone left-side nephrectomy for a renal cell carcinoma 7 years earlier. The woman presented an increased thyroid volume mainly on the right side, with signs of tracheal compression. Ultrasonography of the thyroid gland and fine needle aspiration cytology showed malignant features. Scintigraphy strongly suggested the presence of a cold nodule in the right lobe. Subsequently, total thyroidectomy was performed and the histological examination revealed that the nodule was composed of tumour cells with abundant clear cytoplasm and round nuclei; with the characteristics of the renal cell carcinoma resected 7 years previously. Since computed tomography revealed secondaries in the lungs, the patient is still being managed with chemotherapy, with arrest of the metastatic progression, and is in a fairly good clinical condition.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drug-induced cutaneous lupus erythematosus after 5 years of treatment with carbamazepine.

Drug-induced lupus is a disease, inducible by several drugs, that shares symptoms and laboratory characteristics with idiopathic lupus erythematosus. We report a case of carbamazepine-induced cutaneous lupus erythematosus which developed after 5 years of treatment in a patient who was on this medication because of an epileptic crisis after cranial trauma. Carbamazepine is a medication rarely implicated in drug-induced cutaneous lupus, moreover there are very few reports of such long periods between the start of therapy and the presentation of the clinical symptoms. We describe this case to emphasize the possibility of cutaneous lupus induction by carbamazepine even after many years of therapy.

Aged↗