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Biomedical subjects

F Riccardi

Publications and source records attributed to F Riccardi.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

A phase II study of paclitaxel/cisplatin combination in patients with metastatic breast cancer refractory to anthracycline-based chemotherapy.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: To investigate the safety and efficacy of a paclitaxel and cisplatin regimen in a selected group of metastatic breast cancer patients with primary or acquired chemo-resistance to anthracycline-based chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight consecutive women with metastatic breast cancer (PS < or =2) were entered in this phase II trial; all patients had been previously treated for metastatic disease with chemotherapy containing anthracyclines and had shown a progression of the disease during drug administration or after a clinical response lasting less than 6 months. Fifteen patients had received 2 or more chemotherapeutic regimens for advanced disease; 31 patients had > or =2 sites of metastatic disease. Paclitaxel (135 mg/m2) was administered iv by a 3-hr infusion followed by iv infusion of cisplatin (75 mg/m2) on day 1, every 3 weeks for 6 cycles. After the completion of the planned chemotherapy administration, 9 responsive patients continued to receive paclitaxel alone (175 mg/m2) iv, on day 1, every 3 weeks, until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. RESULTS: A partial clinical response was recorded in 17 cases (45%; 95% CI, 30-64%). The median duration of overall response was 8 months; for the 9 responsive patients who continued treatment with paclitaxel alone, 4 had maintained the partial clinical response at the median follow-up of 24 months from the onset of therapy. The median time to progression was 6 months and median overall survival 8 months. Neurotoxicity was the most frequent adverse effect and caused treatment discontinuation in 5 cases for grade 3-4 paresthesia and/or an arthralgia/myalgia syndrome. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 16 patients (44%). CONCLUSIONS: Paclitaxel/cisplatin is an active regimen for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer refractory to anthracycline-based chemotherapy. However, the cumulative neurotoxicity should limit the efficacy of prolonged paclitaxel monotherapy in responsive patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of tumor markers in the management of head and neck cancer.

Serologic tumor markers have been evaluated in the diagnosis, management and follow-up of patients with head and neck cancer. However, to the authors' knowledge no tumor marker has yet been shown to be useful for monitoring the response to chemotherapy in this type of disease, in particular for undifferentiated tumors. The pretreatment levels of CEA, TPA, SCC and ferritin were evaluated in 98 patients with advanced head and neck cancer. Of this group 64 patients were studied sequentially every month during planned chemotherapy and three weeks after treatment using standard commercial kits. The results showed the following sensitivity values: TPA 50%, CEA 36%, SCC 34% and ferritin 19%. The incidence and magnitude of the marker elevations were correlated with the extent of disease. In patients with squamous cell cancer SCC and CEA were elevated (by 68% and 54%, respectively) in tumors with good differentiation (G1), but only by 13% (both markers) in tumors classified as poorly differentiated (G3). CEA, SCC and ferritin serum levels were not correlated with response to chemotherapy, while TPA values correlated with the clinical response to treatment in 100% of patients with undifferentiated cancer and in 75% of those with squamous cell cancer. Our data indicate that in patients with head and neck cancer TPA appears to be a sensitive marker, followed in decreasing order of sensitivity by CEA, SCC and ferritin. However, SCC and CEA seem to be the most suitable markers for squamous cell cancer and in particular for more differentiated tumors (G1). Finally, TPA has proved to be a useful marker for monitoring the response to chemotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer, in particular for undifferentiated tumors.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Systemic reactions to hymenoptera stings: epidemiologic study of 100 forestry department agents].

An epidemiological study on the prevalence rate of systemic reactions among forestry workers exposed to hymenoptera stings was performed. A sample of 100 Forestry Department Agents was studied using a questionnaire with the purpose of evaluating the prevalence rate of systemic reactions due to hymenoptera stings. From the questionnaire it was found that 78 (78.0%) of the subjects had histories of Hymenoptera stings and 5.0% had experienced systemic reactions. In conclusion, we found that the percentage of systemic reactions was relatively higher than that in the general population previously reported (0.3-3.3%). Efforts should be made for the sake of these Hymenoptera hypersensitive workers to popularize venom immunotherapy.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of TAG-72 as a serum marker in ovarian and breast carcinoma.

Tumor Associated Glycoprotein 72 (TAG-72) is common to most epithelial tumors. In this study serum levels of TAG-72 were measured in 36 healthy female subjects, in 94 patients with breast cancer, and in 43 others with epithelial ovarian cancer. More particularly, 27 out of the 94 patients with breast cancer had early disease (Stage I-I; or T 0-2b; N 0-1b; M 0), while the remaining 67 had advanced disease (Stage III-IV; or T 0-4; N 0-3; M 0-1). All the 43 subjects with ovarian cancer were at stage III-IV (FIGO Classification), 12 of whom had minimal disease (lesions less than 2 cm) and the other 31 had bulky disease. 3.5 U/ml being the highest value found in the control group, we arbitrarily assumed 3.85 U/ml (mean +/- 3 SD) as the cut-off limit in this preliminary study. Among the patients with breast cancer, 17 out of the 67 subjects with advanced disease (25.3%) and 1 out of the 27 others with early disease (3.7%) exceeded the TAG-72 cut-off limit. Among the patients with ovarian cancer, 2 out of the 12 subjects with minimal disease (16.7%) and 22 out of the others 31 with bulky disease (70.9%) had TAG-72 levels above cut-off limit. High TAG-72 levels were found in all the histotypes of ovarian cancer including the mucinous type. Preliminary data seem to indicate that in ovarian cancer variations in serum levels of TAG-72 are in agreement with the trend of the disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mitomycin C and lonidamine as second-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer patients.

To date no effective salvage regimens have been reported for progressive or relapsed patients with advanced colorectal cancer, and new potentially active drugs or combinations should be evaluated for these situations. In vitro studies have suggested that lonidamine (LND) positively modulates the cytotoxic activity of mitomycin (MMC) in human colon cancer cell lines. From November 1993 to February 1995, 29 colorectal cancer patients previously treated with first line chemotherapy were admitted to the study. Treatment consisted of a combination of MMC at 12 mg/m2 administered intravenously on day 1, and LND at 150 mg per os three times daily for five consecutive days, starting two days before MMC; the treatment was repeated every four weeks for a total of 109 cycles. All patients were fully evaluable for response and toxicity. Two partial responses (7%), 10 stable disease, and 17 progressive disease were observed. Median survival duration was 212 days. Toxicity was mild, with no WHO grade 3-4 toxicity. MMC + LND combination therapy does not seem to be effective in previously treated advanced colorectal cancer patients.

Aged↗