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Biomedical subjects

P Gabriele

Publications and source records attributed to P Gabriele.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Vestibular apparatus disorders after external radiation therapy for head and neck cancers.

External irradiation of different head and neck cancers may involve parts of the ear. The vestibular function of 25 patients in which the inner ear was comprised in the irradiated volume was investigated by electronystagmography (ENG). Doses administered to the vestibular system ranged between 2800 and 5120 cGy. Five patients suffered subjective vertigo or dizziness. Eleven patients (three out of five with vertigo) showed vestibular abnormalities to ENG (44% of the total). Altered responses to specific tests were as follow: six patients to the bithermal caloric stimulation, two to the pendular-sinusoidal test and the other three to both of them. Patients were evaluated 3 and 6 months after the ending of the radiation therapy course. At the first evaluation, abnormalities to caloric test were noted in three patients (12%) and to sinusoidal rotatory test in one patient (4%). At the second evaluation, rates of abnormal response increased to 36% and 20%, respectively. Vestibular disorders seemed to be scantly related to the total radiation dose. Data of literature are discussed in order to identify possible implications on treatment planning.

Adult

Daily low-dose carboplatin and standard radiotherapy in unresectable head and neck and lung cancers: a pilot study.

A total of 14 patients with locally advanced and unresectable head and neck (SCCHN) or non small cell lung cancer were treated with a definitive course of radiation therapy with conventional fractionation and 30 mg/m2 carboplatin (CBDCA) given daily as an i.v. infusion during the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th weeks of the combined treatment. The planned tumor dose of at least 7000 cGy was reached in all SCCHN patients except 1 (6600 cGy). The 2 NSCLC patients received 6320 and 5980 cGy, respectively. The planned total CBDCA-dose of 600 mg/m2 was administered in all patients. No treatment delays were required in 10 patients. Interruptions for severe mucositis or myelosuppression occurred in 4 patients (28.6%), but in no case did the delay exceed 1 week. Complete response was obtained in 8 patients (57.1%); 7 of the 12 with SCCHN and 1 of the 2 with NSCLC. The other 6 patients achieved a partial response. Granulocytopenia of WHO grade 3 occurred in 1 patient; apart from vomiting and mucositis, toxicities above grade 2 were not observed.

Adult

[Recurrences of epithelial tumors of the head and neck: review of the literature and a critical analysis of the problem].

Recurrence is a tumor renewal in a previously treated field or surgical wound after a disease-free period. The present work investigates loco-regional recurrences. In the first part of the work the most frequent recurrence sites, types and their characteristics (i.e. infiltrating, exophytic, ulcerating) are studied along with the problems in clinical and pathological diagnosis, new diagnostic imaging (CT and MR) and the UICC classification system. The second part of the work is dedicated to examining classical treatments (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and radiochemotherapy associations) as well new therapies (i.e. cryosurgery, hyperthermia, immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy). A review of the literature is made for indications, results and complications. An extensive study of the cases of the Head and Neck Group of the University of Turin during the 1983-1990 period is also reported. This experience is based on 312 cases: 68 (oropharynx and larynx) treated by surgery, 51 (neck nodes and stomal recurrences) treated by radiotherapy and hyperthermia, 35 (neck nodes) by hyperthermia alone, 168 (all sites) by chemotherapy and 20 by immunotherapy. In the third part of this work supportive therapies and practical problems are reported. In conclusion a therapeutic approach is proposed in relation to the site of the recurrence and previous treatments.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols

[Radiotherapy of laryngeal carcinoma (T1a/b excluding glottic cancer). Critical review of the literature and personal experience].

The authors reviewed the literature on definitive radiation therapy of supraglottic and glottic cancers (T1 a/b glottic excluded). The results are here presented, in terms of local control and survival, of radiotherapy alone and combined with surgery. Voice quality and complications are discussed, as related to results and therapeutic choice. Methods to improve local control (radio-chemotherapy combinations, chemical modifiers, hyperthermia, multiple day fractionation) are analyzed. Prognostic factors and their influence on treatment choice are discussed. The authors report their results with definitive radiotherapy in patients primarily excluded from surgery (18 T2-3 glottic carcinomas and 119 T1-2-3-4 N0-1-2-3 supraglottic carcinomas). Local control was 61% and 38%, respectively; NED survival at 5 years is 45% and 35%. Complication rate is low (5.8%). In conclusion, the authors try to evaluate the comparative adequacy of surgery (especially conservative) and radiation therapy according to the risk/benefit ratio of disease control.

Combined Modality Therapy

Hyperthermia alone in the treatment of recurrences of malignant tumors. Experience with 60 lesions.

Localized hyperthermia alone has been used for the treatment of cancer recurrences in which previous conventional therapies have failed. Since 1983 and 1988, 57 patients with 60 lesions have been heated by means of a microwave and radiofrequency system. Treatment protocol provided 45 minutes of heating at the intratumor temperature of at least 42 degrees C, twice a week, for a total number of six, eight, or ten heating sessions. Invasive intratumor thermometry was performed for all lesions. Complete response (CR) was obtained in ten cases (16.6%) and partial response (PR) in 14 (23.4%). Higher rates of CR were observed in the chest wall (38.5%) compared with the head and neck area (11.4%), trunk (10%), and limbs (none). Adenocarcinoma was the most responsive histologic type (40%). Squamous cells carcinoma had 7.7% CR. The only case of undifferentiated carcinoma showed CR; there were none on five sarcomas. Long-term local control (24 months) was approximately 7%. The multivariate analysis showed the statistical significance of the histologic variety (adenocarcinoma versus others, P less than 0.0001). Side effects and complications of the treatment were minimal.

Adult

Serum thyroid hormone changes in head and neck cancer patients treated with microwave hyperthermia on lymph node metastasis.

Eleven patients with head and neck cancer (ten men, one woman; mean age, 65 years) (larynx, six; oropharynx, two; tongue, one; skin, one; thyroid, one) with regional lymph node enlargements either in contiguity or firmly adherent to the vascular structures of the neck have been treated by means of external microwaves (915, 434 MHz) applicators. All patients were treated by hyperthermia (42-45 degrees C) alone (ten sessions, twice a week, each lasting 30 minutes). Thyroid hormones (T4, T3, FT4, FT3, rT3, thyroid stimulating hormone less than obTSH]) were evaluated during sessions 1, 2, 3, and 8, just before the session (time [t] = 0) and at 10-minute intervals during the heating (t = 10, t = 20, t = 30). Blood was also taken 10 (t = 40) and 30 minutes (t = 60) after the end of each session. T4 showed a decreasing trend; T3 decreased significantly from t = 10 and reached the lowest values at t = 40 and t = 60; FT4 decreased at t = 40 and t = 60 at all sessions; FT3 and rT3 showed no change; TSH decreased at t = 10 until t = 40.

Aged

[Thermal dose and fractionation in clinical hyperthermia].

Hyperthermia is one of the most promising methods for cancer treatment. Two important problems are nonetheless to be solved to define the actual role of this technique: the first one is how to express the thermal dose, and the second one is to assess the optimal sequence for the administration of heat and radiation. The authors critically reviewed the literature on the subject, pointing out those questions which have not yet been solved. Their work was then integrated with their own clinical experience on 191 lesions treated by hyperthermia alone or combined with radiotherapy. The impact is also analyzed of such prognostic factors as minimum intratumor temperature and total number of heating session on the final results.

Breast Neoplasms

[Radiotherapy of carcinoma of the nasopharynx. Results and analysis of prognostic factors].

Radiation therapy of the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma results in permanent loco-regional control in 55-100% of cases according to stage of disease. Five-year overall survival rates range 30-55% and 5-year disease-free survival 30-40%. Factors affecting survival are: sex, age, overall patient conditions, Epstein-Barr associated antibodies, histology, T and N stages, cranial nerve and neck nodes involvement, staging method, dose and fractionation of radiation therapy, and adjuvant treatment. Our results in 94 patients can be summarized as follows: 78.4% local control, 89.8% control of lymph nodes clinically palpable at diagnosis, 40% overall 5-year survival, and 38% 5-year disease-free survival. Significant prognostic factors in our series of patients were T and N stages and histology.

Adult

[5- and 10-year survival in carcinomas of the oral cavity (T1-2/N0-1) treated with external radiotherapy alone or associated with surgery and/or chemotherapy].

The authors report their results on the treatment of 211 T1-2/N0-1 carcinoma of the oral cavity treated with radiotherapy alone or associated with surgery and/or chemotherapy. Five- and ten-year survival rates are respectively 48 and 37%. Two groups were recognized: one with a better prognosis (T1 gum and cheek) and another with a poor prognosis (T2-N1 mobile tongue and floor of the mouth).

Adult

Cisplatin, epirubicin and 5-fluorouracil combination chemotherapy for recurrent carcinoma of the salivary gland.

Nine patients (5 males, 4 females; median age, 62 years) with recurrent high-grade malignancies of major (7 cases) and minor (2 cases) salivary gland origin (4 adenoid cystic carcinomas, 2 adenocarcinomas, 2 poorly differentiated carcinomas, 1 mixed malignant tumor) were treated with cisplatin (60 mg/m2), epirubicin (50 mg/m2) and 5-fluorouracil (600 mg/m2) (CEF) by intravenous injections on the first day of a 21-day regimen. Previous therapy included surgery (1 case), radiotherapy (1 case), and surgery + radiotherapy (7 cases). There was 1 complete response (11.1%), 3 partial responses (33.3%), 2 unchanged lesions (22.2%) and 3 progressions (33.3%). Patients with local recurrence had a better response. Median remission duration was 7.5 months in CR + PR patients. Median overall survival was 8+ months; 14+ months for responders and 4 months for nonresponders. The major toxic effects were nausea/vomiting and alopecia; myelosuppression was less frequent and usually not severe.

Adenocarcinoma

Results of hyperthermia, alone or combined with irradiation, in chest wall recurrences of breast cancer.

In the period between September 1983 and July 1987, 28 locoregional recurrences (about 86% in the chest wall) of breast cancer in 19 patients were treated with external microwave hyperthermia. Of these, 11 lesions were treated with hyperthermia alone and 17 with the combination of heat and external irradiation. Hyperthermia was induced in most cases with 915 MHz microwave (at least 42 degrees C for 30-45 min, for 6-10 sessions). Radiation was administered using photon or electron beams with total doses varying from 2000 to 5000 cGy. Complete and partial response rates on the whole series of patients were 53.6% and 42.9%, respectively. Of 17 lesions treated with combined treatment, 10 had a complete (58.8%) and 7 a partial response; of 11 lesions treated with hyperthermia alone, 5 had a complete (45.5%), 5 a partial (45.5%), and 1 no response. Complete responses were long lasting in all but 3 cases, which recurred after 4 months (2 cases) and 1 year, respectively.

Adult

Combined chemotherapy for recurrent and metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Thirty-two patients (24 males, 8 females; median age 54 yrs) with recurrent and/or metastatic undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type were treated with chemotherapy. Remissions were observed in 17 of 32 (53.2%) with 5 complete (CR) (15.6%) and 12 partial responses (PR) (37.6%). A combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil was the most effective regimen (CR + PR = 83.3%). Objective responses. (CR + PR) were 47% (CR = 11.7%) in schemes without cisplatin and 60% (CR = 20%) in cisplatin-based combinations. The median overall duration of response was 7.2 months. The median overall survival time was 10.3 months: 15.1 months for responders and 5.2 for non-responders. No important toxicity was observed.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols

Clinical hyperthermia, alone or with radiation therapy: results of a preliminary study on recurrences of cancers.

Authors present results obtained by hyperthermic treatment (alone or associated with radiation therapy) on 50 patients (with a total of 66 sites) treated between September 1983 and August 1986. All patients had recurrent or metastatic lesions of pretreated malignant tumors. Among these there were 19 breast adenocarcinomas, 33 squamous cell carcinomas of head and neck, 9 melanomas and 5 subcutaneous metastases of adenocarcinoma of the cervix, rectum and colon. The clinical protocol was: hyperthermia alone (43 degrees -45 degrees C for 30 minutes, bi-weekly, for 4-5 weeks) or hyperthermia plus radiation therapy (4 Gy/fraction) for a total of 8-10 seances, in accordance with previous given doses of irradiation. In summary, complete response rates were 21.2% for head and neck tumors, and 51.5% for cutaneous or subcutaneous lesions. Results have also been analysed according to different prognostic variables related to tumor and treatment characteristics. These data are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma

Three new applicators for hyperthermia.

A computerized system with automatic treatment parameters control for radiological hyperthermia, called Sapic SV03, is presented. The system has been planned and built by the "Sezione Avionica ed Equipaggiamenti" of the Aeritalia in cooperation with the Radiotherapy Department of the University of Turin. The device is supplied with a multifrequency generator system (915, 433, 2-30 MHz) connected with many kinds of applicators, with a fiber optic system for temperature control and a previsional thermometry system. In this paper the authors presented three new applicators. The first one is a concave parallel microstrip applicator at 433 MHz, with a size 16 x 9 cm; the heating pattern is homogenous until 4 cm of depth. This antenna can be used for the treatment of chest wall recurrences of breast cancer. The second is a 27 MHz inductive ring and the third applicator is a pyramidal antenna ("TEM line") that operates at a frequency around 27 MHz.

Computer Systems