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Biomedical subjects

R Molinari

Publications and source records attributed to R Molinari.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in childhood.

We have retrospectively evaluated a series of 27 consecutive children observed from 1965 to 1980 with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Histological diagnosis in each patient was undifferentiated carcinoma of nasopharyngeal type (UCNT) with prominent lymphocytic infiltration. Regional node involvement was present in 26 of 27 patients and two children presented with distant metastases. Twenty evaluable children with primary nasopharyngeal tumor with or without positive cervical nodes underwent radiotherapy (RT) with uniform criteria in technique. Adjuvant cyclophosphamide (CPM) was administered to a total of 11 children. The actuarial relapse-free survival and overall survival are 40% and 55% at four years, respectively. In this series, the most important prognostic factor was represented by the extent of the tumor in the nasopharynx. Permanent control of the primary tumor was obtained in 85% of patients. CPM given after RT did not reduce the incidence of relapse. However, the fact that 45% of patients developed distant metastases as first treatment failure suggests that combined chemotherapy should be tested in the management of NPC in children, especially when primary tumor is locally advanced.

Adolescent↗

A randomized EORTC trial comparing intra-arterial infusion with methotrexate vs bleomycin as initial therapy in carcinoma of the oral cavity.

Either intra-arterial infusions of MTX (500 mg over 10 days) or intra-arterial infusions of BLM (95 mg over 13 days) were administered as initial treatment to 85 patients with untreated squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity. Tumour regression was assessed 10-15 days after the end of chemotherapy. A sequential analysis was used, and BLM demonstrated a significantly greater local efficacy after the 32nd matched pair was assessed. The same results were observed when tumour response rates were compared, ignoring the matching, on the 85 patients, (P less than 0.001). The response rate for patients with neck nodes was low (10/38). Catheter management problems, toxic effects and lethal reactions were 2.5 times more frequent in the MTX group.

Bleomycin↗

Characterization and control of an immobilized allosteric enzyme system.

Both immobilization techniques described in this work seem appropriate for this allosteric enzyme. However, the kinetic behavior of the dCMP deaminase trapped in a protein membrane is markedly different from that observed with the enzyme in solution and with the enzyme gelled on an artificial membrane. The enzyme, in fact, in all instances loses its cooperative action toward the substrate and even the allosteric ligands, or they do not affect the activity, or it behaves in a completely different way. In particular, dTTP seems to behave as a noncompetitive inhibitor. These effects can be attributed either to the freezing of the enzyme in one of its conformations or, more generally, to the effect of physical constraints and diffusional resistances. Further studies are in progress to distinguish between the contributions of each one of these phenomena to the kinetic behavior of the enzyme.

Albumins↗

[Evolution of the N0 patients with primary carcinoma of the oral tongue treated by interstitial radiumtherapy (author's transl)].

In a retrospective and not randomized clinical study we have selected 175 cases of squamous carcinoma of the anterior 2/3 of the tongue treated by interstitial radium therapy on the primary from January 1959 to December 1970. At the end of the treatment 64 patients (36.6%) were operated by radical neck dissection in homolateral lymphatic areas and 111 underwent no operation on the neck. The incidence of false negative is 25% (16/64 cases operated) and 3 patients showed lymph nodal and perilymph nodal metastasis (4.7% of the whole number of operated cases). In the following evolution the homolateral lymph nodal relapse are 2 among the 64 operated patients (3.1%) (both were N+) and 36 among the 101 non operated ones of whom a sufficient follow-up is available (greater than or equal to 3 years) (35.6%); in this last group 9 patients initially were T1, 24 were T2, 3 were T3. The data about the clinical evolution and the analysis of survival curves, in the two groups that underwent or not the neck dissection, permit to draw useful parameters for therapeutic planning.

Brachytherapy↗

[Prognostic factors and clinical classification criteria of oral carcinomas (author's transl)].

The clinical classification of oral carcinomas presents some points still under discussion. In other respects the main questions about the treatment of these cancers could be resolved by cooperative clinical trials which impose the definition of a common clinical language. With a system based on an original computer program for the compiling, store and process essential data on cancer diseases we analyzed 736 consecutive and unselected oral carcinomas and we studied the prognostic value of main clinical factors. In our series, the main prognostic factors are tumor size, clinical appearance of the primary and clinical status of neck nodes. Sex, age and histological grade are unimportant. From our study we propose to complete the TN classification with two useful clinical criteria distinguishing the exophytic or minimally infiltrating tumors from the deeply infiltrating (greater than 1 cm) and the large metastatic omolateral nodes from the small ones (phi less than 3 cm).

Adult↗

Fractionation of the proteolytic and amylolytic complex enzyme system of streptomyces aureofaciens and some properties of fractions.

The Streptomyces aureofaciens extracellular proteolytic system was split into four fractions by carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) column chromatography giving three purely caseinolytic fractions and one fraction active toward both starch and casein. The first caseinolytic and amylolytic fraction was further fractionated by DEAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography into one purely amylolytic fraction and another showing both activities, was refractioned into four new fractions by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. These fractions were found to be heterogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, three of them acted on both starch and casein and a fourth was only caseinolytic. The second CMC fraction was further purified by CMC rechromatography to an homogeneous fraction that hydrolyzes carboxypeptidase A(EC 3.4.2.1) synthetic substrates and solubilizes elastin. It had only one polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of about 28000 daltons, a high thermal stability in the presence of calcium ions, a pH optimum of about 6.8, and a maximal caseinolytic activity at about 50 degrees C.

Amylose↗

Clinical evaluation of cytological diagnosis of nasopharyngeal malignancies.

Between 1970 and 1975 cytological examination was applied to the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal malignancies in a series of 216 consecutive patients who had either a tumour in the nasopharynx or clinical signs of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, or who were locally asymptomatic but had enlarged cervical lymph nodes. Smears were taken by introducing a small rough pad of compressed gauze through the mouth into the nasopharynx with an upward-angled forceps. In each case the cytological smear was taken immediately before biopsy; often, a lymph node was removed subsequently. When morphological diagnoses were doubtful and histological findings were at variance with positive cytological findings, the patients were reexamined clinically, and diagnosis was postponed. The case material was made up of 90 nasopharyngeal carcinomas, 24 lymphomas, one malignant melanoma, one adenoid cystic carcinoma and 100 patients without malignancies. Cytological findings from the first smear were positive in 77.8% of nasopharyngeal carcinomas, in 66.6% of lymphomas and in the cases of melanoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma. There were no false-positive results. When the nasopharyngeal carcinomas were subdivided into undifferentiated carcinomas of the nasopharyngeal type and squamous-cell carcinomas, cytological findings were positive in ,0% and 73%, respectively. Positivity of histological findings was distributed as follows: 91.7% for malignant lymphomas, 86.6% for undifferentiated carcinomas and 86.6% for squamous-cell carcinomas. With respect to clinical suspicion of malignancy, positive cytological findings were obtained in 50% of clinically occult cases and in 84.6% of patients with obvious malignancies; intermediate figures were found for clinically doubtful (64.3%) and for highly suspicious (77.8%) cases. Cyto-histological concordance was shown in 70% of cases; false-negative histological results were obtained in 7.8% and false-negative cytological results in 16.6% of cases. Combined cyto-histological positive results allowed diagnostic accuracy from the first samples in 94.4% of cases. Undifferentiated carcinoma appeared to be the malignancy most accessible to cytological diagnosis, with positive results ranging from 65% in clinically negative or doubtful cases to 84.5% in those with obvious tumours. Assessment of the cytology of the nasopharynx, using the new sampling method described herein, may be a useful diagnostic tool in nasopharyngeal maliganancies.

Biopsy↗

European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer (E.O.R.T.C.). Controlled trials of chemotherapy as an adjuvant or palliative treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The E.O.R.T.C. Head and Neck Cooperative Group has designed a relatively complex international programme for a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of NPC. The aim of the programme is to evaluate the usefulness of chemotherapy in preventing metastases and recurrences and, at the same time, to test other chemotherapeutic regimens and to compare them subsequently with the first one. Two contemporaneous controlled trials are foreseen: (1) long-term chemotherapy after radiotherapy for T3-4 No and T1-4 N1-3 MO cases (NPC 1) and (2) aggressive chemotherapy for MI cases and for patients who develop local or regional recurrences during the first trial (NPC 2). A search of the literature and a pilot study carried out at the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan on advanced cases of NPC showed the following percentages of regression after various kinds of chemotherapy: cyclophosphamide, 38%; adriamycin, 39%; bleomycin, 28%; and methtrexate, 17%. On this basis, the following regimens were chosen: NPC 1 trial: cyclophosphamide (1.2 g/m2 every three weeks for 10 cycles) and a control group receiving no chemotherapy NPC 2 trial: adriamycin alone versus a combination of vinblastine + bleomycin + adriamycin. The programme was begun a short time ago, and no results are yet available.

Bleomycin↗

Selection of a chemically defined medium for submerged cultivation of Streptomyces aureofaciens with high extracellular caseinolytic activity.

A chemically defined medium was developed for the submerged cultivation of Streptomyces aureofaciens with a high secretion of caseinolytic activity. The medium composition is: 40 g/liter maltose; 1.640 g/liter L-leucine (0.0125M); 1.765 g/liter L-lysine (0.0125M); 6.976 g/liter K2HPO4 (0.04M); 4 g/liter CaCO3; 0.2 g/liter MgSO4.7H2O; 0.01 g/liter ZnSO4.7H2O; 0.01 g/liter FeSO4.7H2O: 0.01 g/liter MnSO4H2O, and 0.005 g/liter CoSO4.7H2O. Quantitative correlations were established between the concentrations of nutrients in the medium and the secretion of proteolytic activity. In this medium the secretion of proteolytic activity parallels growth, reaching a maximum after 70 hr at 30 degrees C in shaker cultures. The secretion appears to be an active process and to require aerobic conditions.

Caseins↗

Malignant lymphomas of Waldeyer's ring: natural history and survival after radiotherapy.

The natural history of 292 consecutive cases of reticulum cell sarcoma and lymphosarcoma of Waldeyer's ring and the survival rate after radiotherapy are reported. In our institute since 1928 from 30 to 35% of pharyngeal neoplasms have been lymphomas, and of these 55% have been reticulum cell sarcomas, 21% lymphosarcomas, and 1% Hodgkin's disease. This high incidence may probably be ascribed to the fact that in all malignant lymphomas, irrespective of the clinical presentation, a systematic biopsy of the whole Waldeyer's ring was carried out. Pharyngeal lymphomas were confined to Waldeyer's ring in 19.6% of cases, with initial spread to contiguous cervical nodes in 43.8%, to distant nodes in 24.2%, and to extranodal tissues in 12.4%. Lymphography showed abnormal retroperitoneal lymph nodes in 38.3% of cases. There was gastrointestinal involvement either initially or later in 17.6% of cases. High-energy radiation therapy to both sides of the neck was the treatment of choice for local and regional disease. It achieved a five-year survival rate of 41.9% in the group of 97 patients treated during the past decade. The incidence of relapse (recurrence and new manifestations) was highest in the first year after treatment.

Female↗