Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR
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J. Exp. Clin. Cancer Res. · Dec 2001
Comparative StudyDetection of prostatic carcinoma: the role of TRUS, TRUS guided biopsy, digital rectal examination, PSA and PSA density.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of various diagnostic tests including transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), TRUS guided biopsy, digital rectal examination (DRE), prostate specific antigen (PSA), and prostate specific antigen density (PSAD) in detecting prostatic carcinomas. One hundred and thirty-four men underwent TRUS guided random, or directed and random sonographic biopsies of the prostate. The mean age was 64.67 (range, 31- 88) years. ⋯ PSAD did not prove to be superior to the other diagnostic tests in this study. We recommend biopsy when either TRUS or DRE is abnormal in patients with PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/ml. In the patients with PSA levels greater than 10 ng/ml, biopsy is indicated whatever the findings on TRUS or DRE are, since cancer detection rate is high.
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J. Exp. Clin. Cancer Res. · Jun 2006
Tumor size as predictor of microinvasion, invasion, and axillary metastasis in ductal carcinoma in situ.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) represents a small number of cases in countries with inadequate breast cancer screening programs, and in the majority of cases is diagnosed as a palpable lump. It has been proposed that DCIS with palpable lump > or = 2.5 cm can be associated with microinvasion or invasive carcinoma and risk of axillary metastasis. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate incidence of microinvasion, invasion, and the role of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy in DCIS > or = 2.5 cm. ⋯ Incidence of microinvasion and invasion were directly related with tumor size (10% for DCIS tumor size of 2.5-3.5 cm, 57% for 3.6-4.5 cm, and 71% for tumors between 4.5 and 6 cm). In addition, axillary metastasis incidence had a direct relationship with tumor size. (0% in 2.5-3.5-cm tumor size, 14% for 3.6-4.5 cm, and 28% in DCIS between 4.6 and 6.0 cm). The present study shows high incidence of microinvasion and invasion in DCIS diagnosed in tumors > or = 2.5 cm and supports the importance of axillary evaluation in patients with tumors >3.5 cm by means of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy.
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J. Exp. Clin. Cancer Res. · Jun 2006
Case ReportsComplete regression of low-grade mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma in the gastric stump after eradication of Helicobacter pylori.
Recent studies have suggested that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-associated gastritis may play an important role in the pathogenesis of primary gastric lymphoma. Recently, triple therapy using proton pump inhibitor, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin, has been established for the eradication therapy of H. pylori infection, and is also recommended for the treatment of the superficial type of low-grade gastric MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue ) lymphoma. ⋯ Therefore, there is no evidence that eradication therapy is effective for low-grade MALT lymphoma of the gastric stump. Our case illustrates the remarkable efficacy of eradication of H. pylori for low-grade MALT lymphoma of the gastric stump without other modalities such as surgery and systemic chemotherapy.
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J. Exp. Clin. Cancer Res. · Dec 2004
Presence of HPV in head and neck tumours: high prevalence in tonsillar localization.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) seems to be involved in head and neck carcinogenesis. To investigate this association, viral presence and expression were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods and correlated to tumour localization, clinical-pathological aspects, and alcohol and tobacco exposure in 65 patients. HPV DNA was found in 16 cases (24.6%); the HPV types detected were: HPV16 (10 cases), HPV 6 (3 cases) HPV 33, 35, and 58 (one case each). ⋯ Viral transcripts of early regions were detected in all HPV16 positive tumours. HPV status was not related to age, gender, tumour stage or grade, and use of alcohol and/or tobacco. The results suggest that HPV16 is actively involved in the genesis of a subset of head and neck cancers and that the tonsillar localization may be considered a hot spot for viral transformation.
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J. Exp. Clin. Cancer Res. · Mar 2000
Dacarbazine-based chemotherapy for metastatic melanoma: thirty-year experience overview.
Dacarbazine (DTIC) is the only single-agent approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating metastatic melanoma. With DTIC as single agent, an approximately 20% objective response rate can be achieved with median response duration of 5 to 6 months and complete response rates of 5%. Current status of DTIC single agent and DTIC-based combination chemotherapy has been extensively reviewed in this article. ⋯ Some authors recommend CBDT as reference therapy, even though recently presented results of a randomized phase III trial of CBDT versus DTIC alone, show no statistical difference in survival between the two groups. While a survival benefit from DTIC-based chemotherapy or DTIC alone has never been shown in metastatic melanoma patients and, therefore, the survival has remained unchanged over the past 30 years, some long term survivors have been reported with the "Dartmouth regimen" and/or with high dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) based regimens whose role is going to be defined in prospective randomized phase III trials. On the other hand, the better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for melanoma chemoresistance and the development of new therapeutical strategies could change the scenario in the next future.