Turk J Med Sci
-
Bladder cancer, one of the more common cancers, is a heterogeneous disease, both morphologically and clinically. Although histological classification and extent of the disease (staging) guide treatment options, the heterogeneity in responses to therapy highlights the need for better stratification of patients for the appropriate therapy in order to achieve better outcomes. Several molecular classifications of muscle-invasive bladder cancer have been proposed but currently their use in clinical practice is limited by the complexity of the methods used and diversity of the subtypes.
-
Behçet’s disease (BD) is a systemic and inflammatory disorder that is mainly present along the ancient Silk Road, from the Mediterranean Sea to East Asia. A wide range of prevalence figures (0.1–420/100,000) have been reported for BD, also among Turkish populations of similar genetic background living in different countries. ⋯ It was hypothesized that a decline in infectious diseases, especially dental/periodontal infections, associated with the improvement in oral health, could be a part of these changes in the disease expression. Further epidemiological studies in other populations might demonstrate whether there is a worldwide similar trend and may provide a better understanding of the triggering factors for the onset and course of BD.
-
Liver transplantation (LT) remains the only therapeutic option offering gold standard treatment for end-stage liver disease (ESLD) and acute liver failure (ALF), as well as for certain early-stage liver tumors. Currently, the greatest challenge facing LT is the simple fact that there are not enough adequate livers for all the potential patients that could benefit from LT. Despite efforts to expand the donor pool to include living and deceased donors, organ shortage is still a major problem in many countries. ⋯ However, the majority of patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis who fail medical therapy will not live long enough to meet this requirement. Besides, the initial results of early liver transplantation (ELT) without waiting for 6 months of abstinence period are satisfactory in severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH). It will be important to take care of these patients from a newer perspective.
-
The success of treatment of bone fracture and defects are based on a proper contact and compression between the bone fracture fragments. Intraoperative manipulations such as bone compression or distractions are generally done in order to achieve this. However, none of the bone plates currently in routine use allow these manipulations after fixation to the bone, requiring refixation and repeated drilling, and screwing operations. Based on this shortcoming, we designed a novel adjustable bone plate (ABP) system which allows bone shortening and lengthening even after fixation to the bone surface. The aim of the paper is to clarify the unique properties of the novel bone plate. ⋯ The potential of the new generation ABP plate for use in bone compression, distraction, and the segmental bone transfer is a promising invention for clinical applications in the future.
-
Review
Graft-versus-cancereffect and innovative approaches in thetreatment of refractory solid tumors
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) has been used for the treatment of various refractory solid tumors during the last two decades. After the demonstration of graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) effect in a leukemic murine model following allo-HSCT from other strains of mice, graft-versus-tumor (GvT) effect in a solid tumor after allo-HSCT has also been reported in a murine model in 1984. Several trials have reported the presence of a GvT effect in patients with various refractory solid tumors, including renal, ovarian and colon cancers, as well as soft tissue sarcomas [1]. The growing data on haploidentical transplants also indicate GvT effect in some pediatric refractory solid tumors. Novel immunotherapy-based treatment modalities aim at inducing an allo-reactivity against the metastatic solid tumor via a GvT effect. Recipient derived immune effector cells (RDICs) in the antitumor reactivity following allo-HSCT have also been considered as an emerging therapy for advanced refractory solid tumors. ⋯ This review summarizes the background, rationale, and clinical results of immune-based strategies using GvT effect for the treatment of various metastatic and refractory solid tumors, as well as innovative approaches such as haploidentical HSCT, CAR-T cell therapies and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL).