PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Venanzio Porziella

Publications and source records attributed to Venanzio Porziella.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Multimodality treatment of unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer: interim analysis of a phase II trial with preoperative gemcitabine and concurrent radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: We report the preliminary results of a phase II trial undertaken to determine the feasibility and efficacy of gemcitabine and concurrent radiotherapy in patients with inoperable stage III non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS: Between February 2001 and June 2003, a total of 46 patients (37 male and 9 female, median age 64 years) with clinical stage III non-small cell lung cancer (41 cIIIA and 5 cIIIB) were enrolled in a combined chemoradiation protocol with gemcitabine as the chemotherapeutic agent. Gemcitabine (350 mg/m2) was administered weekly for 5 consecutive weeks as a 30-minute intravenous infusion before radiotherapy (total dose 50.4 Gy, 1.8 Gy/d). Toxicity was routinely assessed. Those patients with disease judged to be resectable at restaging underwent surgery. RESULTS: Toxicity was moderate, with the exception of 1 grade 3 thrombocytopenia. All but 5 patients were available for restaging. No complete responses were observed. Thirty-four patients (82.9%) had partial responses, 5 (12.2%) had stable disease, and 2 (4.9%) had progressive disease. Twenty-nine of 46 patients (63%, 27 cIIIA and 2 cIIIB) underwent surgery. Radical resection was possible in all cases. Surgery included 17 lobectomies, 4 bilobectomies, and 8 pneumonectomies. There were no deaths. Morbidity was 13.8% (4/29). Pathologic downstaging to stage 0 or I was observed in 18 patients (39%, 18/46). After a median follow-up of 13 months (range 2-28 months), 24 of the patients who had undergone operation (86.2%) were alive, with a median disease-free survival of 16 months. Overall 2-year survival was 66.1%, with a significant difference between resected and unresected disease (82% vs 36%, P = .0002). CONCLUSION: The results of this induction trial confirm the feasibility and the efficacy of gemcitabine with concurrent radiotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Farnesyltransferase inhibitors and human malignant pleural mesothelioma: a first-step comparative translational study.

It is known that the potential clinical use of farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTI) could be expanded to include cancers harboring activated receptor tyrosine kinases. Approximately 70% of malignant pleural mesotheliomas (MPM) overexpress epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) and a subset express both EGFR and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha), suggesting an autocrine role for EGFR in MPM. We checked on MPM cells (10 human cell lines, 11 primary cultures obtained by human biopsies, and 7 short-term normal mesothelial cell cultures) concerning the following: (a) the relative overexpression of EGFR (Western blotting, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry), (b) the relative expression of EGFR ligands (EGF, amphiregulin, TGF-alpha, ELISA), (c) the relative increase of the activated form of Ras (Ras-bound GTP) after EGF stimulation (Ras activation assay), (d) the efficacy of five different FTIs (HDJ2 prenylation, cell cytotoxicity, and apoptosis using ApopTag and gel ladder). EGFR was overexpressed in MPM cells compared with normal pleural mesothelial cells in equivalent levels as in non-small cell lung cancer cells A459. MPM cells constitutively expressed EGFR ligands; however, Ras activation was attenuated at high EGF concentrations (100 ng/mL). Growth of MPM cells was substantially not affected by treatment with different FTIs (SCH66336, BMS-214662, R115777, RPR-115135, and Manumycin). Among these, BMS-214662 was the only one moderately active. BMS-214662 triggered apoptosis in a small fraction of cells (not higher than 30%) that was paralleled by a slight decrease in the levels of TGF-alpha secreted by treated MPM cells. Our data highlighted the concept that the same signaling pathway can be regulated in different ways and these regulations can differ between different cells of different origin.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
PubMed2004

Pulmonary inverted Schneiderian papilloma.

Pulmonary inverted Schneiderian papilloma (ISP) is a very rare entity. We herein describe a case that, for its clinical and pathologic features, proved to be challenging.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Enduring challenge in the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer with clinical stage IIIB: results of a trimodality approach.

BACKGROUND: Stage IIIb (T4/N3) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is considered an inoperable disease and treatment is an enduring challenge. Surgery after induction therapy seems to improve locoregional control. We report the results of a phase II prospective trimodality trial (chemotherapy and concomitant radiotherapy plus surgery) in patients with stage IIIb NSCLC. METHODS: From November 1992 to June 2000, 39 patients (37 men and 2 women, mean age 65 years) with clinical stage IIIb (34 T4N0 to 2, 4 T2 to 3N3, 1 T4N3, excluding T4 for malignant pleural effusion) entered the study. They received intravenous infusions of cisplatin 20 mg/m(2) and 5-fluorouracil 1,000 mg/m(2) (days 1 to 4 and 25 to 28) combined with a total dose of 50.4 Gy radiotherapy delivered over 4 weeks (1.8 Gy daily). Upon clinical restaging responders underwent surgery. RESULTS: All patients were available for clinical restaging. No complete response was observed. Twenty-one patients had partial response (53.8%), 16 had stable disease (41%), and 2 had progressive disease (5.2%). Hematologic toxicity was moderate. Twenty-two patients (56.4%), 21 with partial response and 1 with stable disease, underwent surgery with no perioperative death. A radical resection was possible in 21 cases. Nine lobectomies, 3 bilobectomies, and 9 pneumonectomies were performed. Complications occurred in 5 patients (23.6%). Fourteen of the patients who underwent surgery (66.6%) showed a pathologic downstaging. A complete pathologic response was obtained in 9 cases (49%). Overall 5-year survival (Kaplan-Meier) was 23%. Resected versus non-resected patients showed a significant difference: 38% versus 5.6% (p = 0.028, log rank). CONCLUSIONS: This trimodal approach for stage IIIb NSCLC appears safe and effective. It provides good therapeutic results with acceptable morbidity in surgical cases.

Adult↗