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V Sacchini

Publications and source records attributed to V Sacchini.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Prognosis of breast cancer with axillary node metastases after surgical treatment only.

Out of 753 patients with breast cancer treated with radical mastectomy from 1968 to 1970 at the National Cancer Institute of Milan, Italy, 308 had histologically proven positive nodes. The number of positive nodes was not dependent on the location of the primary tumour, its diameter and the patient's age. Extracapsular invasion was related to the number of positive nodes at a statistically significant level: P value 2 X 10(-9). Survival was influenced by the number of positive nodes and extension of metastases beyond their capsule and age. Each of these criteria had an independent impact on survival. Three subgroups with different prognosis were identified in patients older than 40: (a) with a single involved node and 69.9% 10 year survival rate, (b) patients with two or more nodes with metastatic deposit still confined within node capsule and 47.4% 10 year survival rate, (c) patients with two or more involved nodes and extracapsular invasion and 25.3% 10 year survival rate. In patients younger than 40 no subgroup was identified: this group had an intermediate 10 year survival rate (50.9%). The authors conclude that there is a need (a) of re-consideration of the prognosis of patients with positive nodes and (b) to agree on the definition of "high-risk patients".

Adult↗

A reappraisal of oophorectomy in carcinoma of the breast.

Bilateral oophorectomy was used to treat 601 patients with disseminated breast carcinoma from 1974-1984. The total response rate was 31.2%. Complete regression occurred in 10.5% of patients and partial regression occurred in 20.8%, whereas 28.3% of patients showed no change and the disease progressed in 36.9% of patients. The patients who had a total regression had good survival rates (60.8% at 5 years and 47.3% at 7 years). No significant differences were found in the various age groups or with different types of dissemination. Patients with syncronous primary carcinoma and distant metastases had a high rate of regression as did patients with slow-growing carcinomas that metastasized many years after primary treatment. Estrogen receptor (ER) rates were good indicators of response only when determined on metastatic tissue at the time of oophorectomy. The value of ER determined on the primary tumor was of limited predictivity of response. A total of 220 patients received chemotherapy before oophorectomy. In this group the response rate was 22.3%, lower than that observed in patients who did not receive chemotherapy (36.6%). No important differences in total response rates were found among patients with amenorrhea and without amenorrhea although total regressions were more frequent in the latter patients than in the former patients.

Adult↗

Contralateral breast cancer after limited surgery plus radiotherapy of early mammary tumors.

Conservative treatment of early breast cancer with limited surgery requires a mandatory irradiation of the affected breast, which implies a low but measurable irradiation of contralateral breast too. As ionizing radiations can produce an oncogenic effect on mammary tissues, the series of 701 patients of the Milano clinical trial on T1 No breast cancer (1973-1980) was investigated to compare the incidence of contralateral breast cancer in the Halsted group (not irradiated) and in the QU.A.RT. group (irradiated on the operated breast with a total dose of 50 Gy plus a limited boost of 10 Gy). In March 1986, a contralateral breast cancer was diagnosed in 17/349 patients (4.9%) of the Halsted group and in 18/352 patients (5.1%) of the QU.A.RT. group after a median follow-up of 108 months. The sites of contralateral cancer were superimposable in the two groups of patients, with a constant prevalence of external quadrants, despite the great difference of dose distribution in the irradiated patients. Our data on the incidence of contralateral breast cancer failed to demonstrate an oncogenic effect of irradiation to date, but the follow-up is still in progress and any future event will be registered and discussed.

Axilla↗

[Cutaneous epitheliomas induced by ionizing radiation during radiotherapy. Presentation of 35 cases].

Thirty five cases of carcinomas of the skin, presumably induced by ionizing radiation therapy are reported. There was a precise topographic relationship between the site of irradiation and that of onset of tumor; in 31 cases, there were multiple neoplastic foci in the skin area exposed to ionizing radiation; a sufficiently long period of time had elapsed from the time of exposure to ionizing radiation to the clinical diagnosis of induced tumor; cases in which there were cutaneous carcinomas in other parts of the body as well as in the skin area exposed to the radiation were excluded from the series. Almost all patients had been subjected to ionizing radiation for treatment of benign diseases and 29 for arthrosis. The median age of the patients at the time of exposure to the ionizing radiation was 33,33 years. The radiation dose to which the patients had been subjected varied from 10 to 25 Gy; this dose is rather low, however it is in this dose range, according to Gray, a relatively high incidence of induced tumor is verified. The median interval between exposure to ionizing radiation and clinical finding of the tumor was 18.5 years. The carcinomas were observed almost always in the trunk and like spontaneous carcinomas at this site they were almost exclusively basal cell type.

Adult↗

HLA antigen frequencies in malignant melanoma patients. A second study.

Two groups of malignant melanoma (MM) patients were considered: the group of 140 patients previously published and a new one of 58, both typed for HLA-A, -B and -C antigens at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan. The control group consisted of healthy blood donors not related to the patients. Only the HLA-Bw35 antigen frequency was significantly decreased in both groups of patients. To investigate the HLA-A and -B blanks, 62 MM patients and 90 healthy controls, who showed non-homozygotic blanks when they were firstly HLA typed, volunteered to repeat the HLA typing three or more times in a 2-year period. A significant increase in both HLA-A and -B blanks in the patients as compared to controls was noticed (p = 3 X 10(-4) and 3 X 10(-5), respectively). In the future, attempts should be made to correlate the HLA antigen and blank frequencies with the evolution of the disease and, also, to verify the hypothesis that the HLA-Bw35 antigen may be an associated resistance factor against the tumor.

Female↗

Carbon dioxide laser in scalp tumor surgery.

The widespread application of the CO2 laser in surgical treatment of tumor led us to verify its usefulness in selected cases of scalp tumor. Twelve selected patients underwent CO2 laser surgical excision plus vaporization of the wound base for infiltrating tumors during 1980-82. All patients showed associated pathologies that interfered with the traditional surgical excision and with anesthesiological practices. Our experience has confirmed the effectiveness of the laser technique under these conditions and with respect to subsequent plastic restoration.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Prognostic factors in operable breast cancer.

A series of 743 consecutive cases of operable breast cancer, admitted and treated at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan from 1969 to 1970, was analyzed by a multivariate statistical method to evaluate a) the variables of the host and the primary tumor associated with the frequency of nodal metastases, b) the variables that significantly affect survival, and c) the identification of homogeneous risk groups. As regards the frequency of regional node metastases, they were more frequently observed in young than in old patients with large tumors (P values 10(-5) and 3 X 10(-5), respectively). Tumors that originated in the axillary tail, upper, outer and central quadrants were significantly associated with a higher rate of node metastases (P = 0.002). Each of these variables maintained its significant value when adjusted by the other two. Survival was affected at a statistically significant level by the age of the patients (P = 2 X 10(-4) ), the pathologic diameter of the primary tumor (P less than 10(-6) ), and the number of metastatic regional nodes (P less than 10(-6) ). The number of involved nodes appears to be the most relevant factor in the assessment of prognosis of patients with positive nodes, Age of the patients, size of the primary tumor, and number of involved nodes maintain their own statistical significance when each is adjusted by the remaining two. The site of origin of the primary tumor, even if associated with the frequency of regional node metastases, did not affect survival. Three groups with a significantly different risk of death were identified in patients with negative lymph nodes and three groups in patients with positive nodes. It is concluded that age, size of the primary, and number of involved lymph nodes are important pieces of information that clinicians should have at hand following radical surgery, not only to make a prognosis, but also to identify groups of patients with high risk of death on which the role of adjuvant treatment should be evaluated.

Adult↗

Risk of internal mammary lymph node metastases and its relevance on prognosis of breast cancer patients.

The risk of internal mammary chain metastases according to some parameters and its prognostic relevance was evaluated on the basis of the experience collected at the National Cancer Institute of Milan where, from January 1965 to December 1980, 1085 patients were submitted to Halsted mastectomy plus internal mammary chain dissection. A multivariate analysis was carried out, resorting to a multiple linear regression with logistic transformation of the dependent variable. The selection of prognostic factors has been performed with a step-down approach. The frequency of metastases to internal mammary chain nodes was evaluated according to four criteria: age, site and size of primary tumor, and presence of axillary metastases. Data of this series indicate that the frequency of internal mammary node metastases is significantly associated with the age of the patients (younger patients have a higher risk) (p = 0.006) with the size of primary tumor (p = 0.006) with the presence of axillary node metastases (p = 10(-9). Patients with both axillary and internal mammary positive nodes have a very poor prognosis (10-year survival 37.3%) while patients with either axillary metastases only or internal mammary metastases only have an intermediate less grave prognosis (59.6% and 62.4%, respectively). As regards the risk of internal mammary nodes involvement, it appears that knowing the age, the size, and the axillary nodes status, it is possible to calculate with good approximation the probability of their invasion.

Adult↗

Goserelin in premenopausal advanced breast cancer: clinical and endocrine evaluation of responsive patients.

Medical ovariectomy with goserelin is an alternative to surgical oophorectomy. To evaluate the relationship between tumor regression and endocrine changes induced by therapy, 40 premenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer were given 3.6 mg of goserelin subcutaneously fortnightly for the first 4 doses and every 28 days thereafter. We have made a particular analysis of the clinical and endocrine profile of responsive patients. Objective responses were observed in 17 of the 38 evaluable patients (45%), 6 cases achieving complete remission. Serum estradiol was suppressed in castrated women, although there was a tendency towards an increase in serum follicle-stimulating hormone over time. No statistically significant difference was observed in the hormonal profiles of patients experiencing a complete or partial response. Our experience confirms that goserelin is as effective as oophorectomy and that there is a clear correspondence between clinical response and drug-induced estrogen suppression.

Adult↗