PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

F Bertoni

Publications and source records attributed to F Bertoni.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Dedifferentiated peripheral chondrosarcomas. A report of seven cases.

Peripheral dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma (CS) is an exceedingly rare variant of the highly malignant entity of dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma. Only five such cases have previously been reported. Seven cases are analyzed and evaluated for the presentation and natural history of this highly malignant lesion when it arises in a tumor that was previously an osteochondroma. Both peripheral and central dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas are high-grade malignant lesions and require wide or radical surgical margins for adequate treatment. Despite adequate resection, survival is poor; five of the seven cases presented herein died of metastatic spread of their disease. These cases of the peripheral variant of dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma occurred in patients who were younger than patients with central dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas and may be present with longer duration of symptoms because they occur in previously long-standing benign osteochondromas. As such, they may be easily overlooked clinically and radiographically. Therefore, careful histologic analysis of all cartilage lesions arising on the surface of bone is essential to prevent overlooking foci of high-grade sarcomatous dedifferentiation.

Adult

Primary chemotherapy and delayed surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) for telangiectatic osteogenic sarcoma of the extremities.

Twelve patients with telangiectatic osteogenic sarcoma (TOS) of the extremities were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to two different protocols. Preoperatively the patients received high-dose methotrexate(HD-MTX)/cisplatinum(CPD) or HD-MTX/CPD/adriamycin(ADM). CPD was delivered intra-arterially, the other drugs intravenously. Limb salvage surgery was performed in eight instances and four patients underwent amputation. Post operative chemotherapy was tailored according to the grade of necrosis determined by preoperative treatment on the primary tumor. In ten cases (83%) the grade of necrosis resulted higher than 95%. The mean length of follow-up was 3.5 years with a range of 18 to 72 months. Ten patients (83%) remained continuously disease-free, while two patients developed lung metastases and died of uncontrolled disease. No local recurrences were observed. These results are better than those observed in 167 contemporary cases of conventional osteosarcoma treated with the same protocols. This study confirms that TOS is not always a lethal tumor as suggested by prior reports. Employing neoadjuvant chemotherapy a high percentage of patients with TOS can be cured and in most of them, limb sparing surgery is possible and safe.

Adolescent

Oncocytoma and low-grade oncocytic carcinoma of the kidney.

Oncocytoma is a term generally used to describe a neoplasm of the renal parenchyma consisting of well-differentiated cells with prominently eosinophilic granular cytoplasm. We report our experience with such tumors and with 4 cases of granular cell carcinoma (grade 2). We present the histopathology, surgical staging studies, treatment, and clinical outcome. Of the 10 patients, 7 are alive without evidence of tumor at a mean follow-up of 5 years from the initial treatment. Three patients have died, 2 from nontumor-related causes while the cause of death of the third patient is uncertain, possibly due to the tumor. Although well-differentiated oncocytic renal tumors are usually considered as uncommon when the diagnosis is made, nonaggressive behavior is expected. However, careful radiographic and pathologic examination is required to avoid the pitfall of overlooking a higher-grade, more lethal neoplasm which may be mixed with the well-differentiated oncocytic neoplasm and form a minority component. A wide resection, which in most cases is nephrectomy, is apparently curative and assures that complete pathological examination of the specimen can be accomplished. In more than 90% of the cases, the tumor is solitary and unilateral. Cases in which there are multiple tumors are often bilateral, and this finding may create diagnostic confusion.

Adenoma

Intratumoral echo-guided injection of interleukin-2 and lymphokine-activated killer cells in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Interleukin-2 has proved to be effective for the intralesional treatment of tumors of the bladder. There are examples in literature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment with lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells infused in the hepatic artery. We decided to check the effects of echo-guided intralesional injection of these cells in this disease. We treated 5 patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, following cirrhosis; in 4 cases the mass had a diameter less than 3 cm (small HCC) while in the remaining case it measured 7 cm. Tumor size remained unchanged in 3 of the 4 small HCC, and increased only slightly in the other (over a period of 10 months). This would appear to indicate that treatment halted neoplasm growth or at least slowed it down. The echo pattern of the lesions changed, with a constant reduction in echogenicity. Finally, in multiple control biopsies, fibrosis, present in only one case before treatment, was found fairly constantly after treatment. There were no significant side effects, apart from slight water retention in one patient. On the basis of our preliminary results, we consider it worthwhile continuing this study to establish the most suitable IL-2 doses and analyze in more detail the modifications induced in the neoplasm.

Aged

[Echography vs urography in the study of small-size renal carcinoma].

Since 1981 we have studied 34 patients with renal cell carcinomas smaller than 3 cm, diagnosed by US and IVP, to evaluate the diagnostic viability of these 2 procedures. Their respective results were compared to pathologic findings and tumor grading. No correlation was found between the type of sonographic patterns and the pathologic findings. On the contrary the correlation between the acoustic pattern and the grading, performed on small tumors and on a control group of large tumors, showed that most tumors in the former group (70%) had lower grading than those in the latter. We conclude that the introduction of US has changed the approach to the diagnosis of renal tumors, allowing their early recognition and characterisation. It is thus hoped that the clinical course of such tumors will be improved.

Adult

Campylobacter pylori in abattoir workers: is it a zoonosis?

Sera from 98 abattoir workers were tested for IgG to Campylobacter pylori, C jejuni, and klebsiella. Clerical workers had significantly lower C pylori and C jejuni IgG titres than any of the groups in direct contact with freshly cut animal parts. No difference was found for antibodies to klebsiella. 28 non-clerical workers with high-titre C pylori IgG consented to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. C pylori associated gastritis was found in all 28, and four weeks of colloidal bismuth subcitrate (240 mg twice daily) was prescribed. On repeat testing at three months all showed a decrease in IgG titres to C pylori but not to C jejuni, whereas 18 untreated non-endoscoped workers showed no change. These findings raise the possibility that C pylori infection is a zoonosis.

Abattoirs

Xanthoma of bone.

The authors report on 21 cases of "primary" xanthoma of bone. Twenty of the patients were older than 20 years old. The male-female ratio was 2:1. The presenting symptom was pain in 13 patients and neurologic symptoms in 2; in 6 patients, the lesion was an incidental finding. All but one of the lesions in this series were solitary, and the flat bones (pelvis, rib, skull) were the most frequently involved sites. Radiographically, a well-defined, sometimes expansile lytic lesion, with either a small area of surrounding reactive bone or a distinct sclerotic margin, was seen. Microscopically, foam cells, giant cells, cholesterol clefts, and fibrosis were present in varying degrees. In none of these cases was there an identifiable underlying lesion. The differential diagnosis includes Erdheim-Chester disease (a multisystemic granulomatosis) and bone involvement in sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman disease). More important is the differential diagnosis with metastatic clear cell carcinoma. Xanthoma of bone is a benign lesion, and complete or even partial removal is effective. Xanthomas may represent a "burnt-out" benign condition such as fibrous dysplasia or histiocytosis X.

Adolescent

Large cell lymphoma of bone. A report of three cases of B-cell origin.

Clinicopathological and immunohistological features of three cases of large cell lymphoma of bone are reported. On histological grounds, all the cases were diagnosed as histiocytic lymphomas (Rappaport) or primary centroblastic lymphomas, polymorphic subtype (Kiel). On immunophenotyping, malignant cells strongly reacted with the anti-leucocyte antibodies PD7/26 and ROS-220C, thereby indicating their lymphomatous nature, and expressed the B-cell antigens CD19 and CD22. Further studies are warranted to determine whether the B-cell phenotype observed in our cases is typical of the majority of primary large cell lymphomas of bone. Immunohistological analysis with monoclonal antibodies is expected to be of great value not only in defining the immunological phenotype of this rare pathological entity, but also in differentiating it from other neoplasms that involve the skeleton, either primarily or secondarily.

Adult

Giant-cell tumor of bone with pulmonary metastases. Six case reports and a review of the literature.

Giant-cell tumor of bone rarely metastasizes to the lung. In three of six cases, lesions in lung tissue were histologically benign. In 39 such cases reported in the literature, the treatments were surgical extirpation, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Resection was indicated to definitely diagnose the pulmonary lesions as benign giant-cell tumors. Radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy may be beneficial as adjuvant treatment, especially where the lesions are anatomically inaccessible. Some pulmonary lesions spontaneously regress even in the absence of definitive treatment.

Adult

[Papillary nephrocarcinoma: radiographic and echographic aspects].

Between 1976 and 1987, 395 patients with kidney tumors were studied with radiological techniques and sonography. In 37 cases (9.4%) histopathology diagnosed pure papillary renal cell carcinoma. Analyzing the radiographic patterns of these neoplasms, the authors observed constantly diminished vascularity (100%), frequent calcifications (35.1%) and necrotic areas (51.3%). Such X-ray features are not specific: nevertheless, their coexistence is strongly suggestive of papillary renal cell cancer. No consistent US pattern was found; however, necrotic areas were easily demonstrated in most cases. It must be stressed how patients with papillary carcinoma experienced a longer postoperative survival; it has not yet been established whether such favorable behavior is due to low biological aggressiveness or to earlier diagnosis.

Adult

Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma.

The cases of forty-six patients who had dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma were reviewed. Two groups were identified: one in which a low-grade malignant chondrosarcoma was the precursor lesion and one in which a moderate to high-grade malignant chondrosarcoma was the precursor lesion. The radiographic features of these lesions ranged from that of a cartilaginous lesion that appeared to be benign to that of a destructive osteolytic tumor in which the cartilaginous component was overshadowed by the dedifferentiated component. Only three of the forty-six patients survived for more than two years. Resection alone, even when it was wide or radical, was not successful in controlling this lethal sarcoma.

Adult

Brown tumor of the tibia as an early manifestation of renal osteodystrophy. A case report.

A brown tumor of the tibia occurred in a 49-year-old woman on dialysis with chronic renal failure. This lesion was the first clinical or radiographic indication of bone involvement. Although serum levels of calcium and phosphorus are often well regulated by dialysis, clinical or radiologic evidence of a brown tumor may prove to be the first sign of renal osteodystrophy in patients with chronic renal failure.

Bone Neoplasms

[Treatment of pelvic recurrences of carcinoma of the cervix uteri by radiotherapy alone].

The best way to treat locally recurrent carcinoma of the uterine cervix has not been established. Our retrospective study refers to 37 consecutive patients, with recurrence in the pelvis, treated by radiotherapy alone. Thirty patients were treated by external beam therapy alone; intracavitary brachytherapy alone was adopted in 3 patients and a combination of both techniques in 4 patients. The total radiation dose exceeded 60 Gy in 62% of cases. A complete clinical response was observed in 54% of patients and a partial response in 32.4%. Overall crude survival was 70.3%, 28.9% and 23.2% at 1, 3 and 5 years respectively. In patients with recurrent tumors less than 40 mm in diameter a threefold 3-year survival was achieved (48.6% vs. 14.5%, p less than 0.025). With total doses higher than 60 Gy the 3-year survival resulted to be far better than with lower doses (39.1% vs. 10%, p less than 0.025). A significant advantage was also observed in the "complete responders" group (44% vs. 11.8%), but this difference can be explained by the link between response and the above-mentioned basic prognostic factors. Acute side effects and late complications were moderate and did not correlate with the type of primary treatment. A significant percentage (about 25%) of patients with locally recurrent cervix carcinoma may reach medium-term survival; better results can be achieved in selected groups with favourable prognostic factors and with adequate radiotherapeutic treatment.

Adenocarcinoma

Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the kidney.

Among 315 cases of parenchymal renal carcinoma resected between 1975 and 1985, 19 cases (6 per cent) of sarcomatoid carcinoma were identified. All patients were symptomatic or had a palpable mass in the flank at hospitalization. Tumor stage generally was advanced at operation and metastases were detected in 8 patients (Robson stage IV), all of whom died after an average postoperative survival of 8 months. In 3 patients there was tumor invasion of the renal vein (Robson stage IIIA), and they died after an average postoperative period of 11 months. Of 4 patients with perinephric fat invasion (Robson stage II) 2 died of cancer after an average survival of 15 months and 2 are alive with no evidence of disease for an average of 73 months postoperatively. In these later 2 cases the sarcomatoid areas constituted less than 5 per cent of the entire tumor and the remaining tumor was low grade carcinoma. In 3 patients adequate followup is not available and 1 was lost to followup. This histological variant of parenchymal cell carcinoma is a high grade malignancy with a poor prognosis. Operative treatment appears to be ineffective in modifying the behavior of the tumor.

Aged