Biomedical subjects

G Stanimir

Publications and source records attributed to G Stanimir.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Prognostic factors and outcome in women with uterine sarcoma.

OBJECTIVES: A retrospective analysis of patients with uterine sarcoma was undertaken to assess prognostic factors and treatment related outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-four patients (median age: 60years, range: 20-93years) with a histologically verified uterine sarcoma treated at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) between 1989 and 2004 were identified from the tumor registry and pathology database. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients had an endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS), 30 had a leiomyosarcoma (LMS), and 36 had mixed muellerian tumors (MMT). According to FIGO classification, Stage I, II, III, and IV tumors were identified in 49, 7, 20, and 18 patients, respectively. At the time of analysis, 55.5% of patients (52/94) were dead due to progressive sarcoma disease; 8.5% of the patients (8/94) were alive with disease recurrence, and 36.2% (34/94) were alive without disease recurrence, with a median survival of 35months. Univariate analysis demonstrated a statistically significant association between overall survival and histology in favor of patients with ESS (p<0.001). Analyzing each of the histological subtypes separately, adjuvant treatment with chemotherapy and/or hormonal treatment had no demonstrable impact on overall survival. In multivariate analysis age and advanced stage, remained a significant predictor for overall survival in patients with LMS and MMT, but not in patients with ESS. Regarding adjuvant treatment, radiotherapy had a significant impact on overall survival only in patients with MMT (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with uterine sarcoma, in comparison to LMS and MMT, ESS tends to present as a less aggressive disease with a favorable outcome. Furthermore, reflected by an improved overall survival after radiotherapy only in patients with MMT, it seems to be mandatory to differentiate between these histological subtypes.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Human papillomavirus DNA in invasive cervical carcinomas and its association with patient survival: a nested case-control study.

This study sought to examine the association between the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in invasive cervical cancer and prognosis. A case-control study was undertaken nested in a cohort of 208 patients with invasive cervical carcinoma in Montreal. All 40 deceased patients formed the case groups. A control group of equal size was selected by matching to each case (1:1) a patient of the same age and year of admission who had survived her disease. HPV DNA was detected by the use of a PCR protocol. The odds ratio (OR) for cervical cancer death was computed by logistic regression. Detection of HPV, particularly of types 16 and 18, was negatively correlated with disease stage and histological grade. The OR for death was 0.27 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.1-0.8] for those whose tumors were positive for HPV DNA versus those in whom HPV DNA was not detected. After adjusting for the confounding effects of stage and grade, the prognostic effect was somewhat reduced, with an OR of 0.34 (CI, 0.1-1.1), which was no longer significant. The magnitude of the HPV-survival association was not altered when the analyses were restricted to carcinomas of stages I and II. Regardless of the mechanism for the prognostic role, detection of HPV DNA in primary tumors may play an important adjunct role in assessing prognosis of patients with invasive cervical cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Ototoxicity due to cis-diamminedichloroplatinum in the treatment of ovarian cancer: influence of dosage and schedule of administration.

Ototoxicity associated with administration of cisplatin was assessed in four groups of patients suffering from advanced ovarian carcinoma. The purpose was to determine the influence of dosage, schedule of administration, and long-term treatment on pure-tone thresholds and other auditory parameters. One hundred and forty-five serial audiograms were obtained in 60 patients and compared with baseline audiograms. The treatment protocol consisted of two different dosages (low--50 mg/m2 and high--100 mg/m2) and three different schedules of administration (short--6 months, extended--12 months, and treatment in blocks--intervening months in which cisplatin was withheld). Using a conservative definition of auditory toxicity and statistical analyses of pure-tone threshold differences between groups, the results indicated that the low dose-short treatment regimens with either monthly administration of cisplatin, or administration in blocks, were the least ototoxic. Ototoxicity was found to increase with increasing cumulative dosages. Hearing loss was primarily in the high frequencies. The most severe ototoxic effects, which include tinnitus and hearing loss in the speech frequency range, were associated with the administration of high dosages over a short period of time. Individual variability in susceptibility to ototoxicity necessitates systematic audiometric monitoring throughout therapy.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Radiation therapy of primary vaginal carcinoma.

Primary carcinoma of the vagina is rare, constituting only 1 to 2% of all neoplasms arising in the female genital tract. From 1950-1974, 36 patients with carcinoma of the vagina were treated with radiation at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC); 35 (96%) had epidermoid carcinoma and one patient (4%) had adenocarcinoma. These patients were staged according to FIGO. Fourteen patients (39%) were Stage I; six patients (17%) were Stage II; three patients (8%) were Stage III; and 13 patients (36%) were Stage IV. Nine patients (25%) were treated with external radiation and interstitial implant; seven patients (20%) were treated with interstitial implant alone; nine patients (25%) were treated with external radiation alone and 11 patients (30%) with external radiation and intracavitary radiation. The five year NED survival was 71% in Stage I, 66% in Stage II, 33% in Stage III and 0% in Stage IV. This paper discusses radiotherapy management of primary carcinoma of the vagina.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The activity of letrozole in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer and correlation with biological markers--a study of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group.

A multicenter phase II trial was conducted to define the activity of letrozole in postmenopausal women with recurrent or advanced endometrial carcinoma, who had no more than one prior line of progestins and never had chemotherapy (except adjuvant). Archival paraffin-embedded tumor samples were retrieved to determine the expression level of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR), p53, HER-2, bcl-2 and PTEN protein, and phosphorylation status of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt). Thirty-two eligible patients were treated with letrozole at 2.5 mg daily continuously, of whom 10 (31%) had prior progestins. Of the 28 patients evaluated for response, one complete and two partial responses were noted; overall response was 9.4% (95% confidence interval 2-25%). Eleven patients had stable disease for a median duration of 6.7 months (range 3.7-19.3 months). Amongst 22 patients who had tumor blocks available, the proportion showing positive expression of the following markers includes: PgR (86%), ER (86%), PTEN (82%), phosphorylated PKB/Akt (59%), bcl-2 (45%), p53 (32%), and HER-2 (0%). None of these markers correlated with response to letrozole or disease progression. In conclusion, letrozole is well tolerated but has little overall activity in this cohort of women with endometrial cancer.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Primary malignant mesodermal ovarian sarcomas.

Primary malignant mesodermal ovarian sarcomas are rare tumors and have a poor prognosis. The disease is usually diagnosed at a late stage and 5-year survivals are uncommon. Most patients are treated with debulking surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. We report ten patients treated at a single institution. All patients underwent surgery and 90% received adjuvant chemotherapy. The median survival was 20 months, and only one patient survived beyond 5 years. Newer treatment strategies are urgently needed in the management of this disease.

Adult↗