Archive for July, 2008
July 10th, 2008. To replace or not to replace? – Partial coning and a sixth nerve palsy secondary due to displacement of a tunnelled intrathecal catheter for pain control
Surgical re-siting of the intrathecal catheter produced good pain relief for many months. Doctors involved in the use of indwelling intrathecal catheters for pain control must be aware of the risk of significant neurological sequelae but should not dismiss re-establishment of intrathecal therapy in the presence of significant neurological complications.
July 10th, 2008. Localized malignant mesothelioma in the middle mediastinum: Report of a case
We assumed that the tumor was derived from the pericardium. Local recurrence was detected 1 year after resection, and the patient died of the disease about 2 years later.
July 9th, 2008. Immunohistochemistry of pulmonary and pleural neoplasia
Conclusions: Immunohistochemical stains provide the greatest aid in establishing the site of origin of adenocarcinomas encountered in the lung and in separating epithelioid mesothelioma from adenocarcinoma. Certain subtypes of pulmonary adenocarcinomas may exhibit unusual staining patterns that may be potentially problematic. Immunohistochemistry has a more limited role in separating small cell carcinoma from non–small cell carcinoma, and extreme caution must be used in the situation of crushed biopsy specimens.
July 9th, 2008. Primary and metastatic lung tumors in the pediatric population: a review and 25-year experience at a large children’s hospital
Conclusions: A total of 204 pediatric lung tumors were diagnosed at our institution, including 20 primary benign lesions (9.8%), 14 primary malignant lesions (6.9%), and 170 secondary lung lesions (83.3%). The ratio of primary benign to primary malignant to secondary malignant neoplasms is 1.4:1:11.6. The common types of lung cancer in adults are exceptional occurrences in the pediatric population. The most common primary lung malignancies in children are pleuropulmonary blastoma and carcinoid tumor. Other primary pediatric lung tumors include congenital peribronchial myofibroblastic tumor and other myofibroblastic lesions, sarcomas, carcinoma, and mesothelioma. Children with primary or acquired immunodeficiency are at risk for Epstein-Barr virus–related smooth muscle tumors, lymphoma, and lymphoproliferative disorders. Metastatic lung tumors are relatively common in children and also comprise a spectrum of neoplasia distinct from the adult population.
July 9th, 2008. Pulmonary sarcomatous tumors
Conclusions: This review discusses specific criteria for the diagnosis of primary lung sarcomas and offers a practical approach to excluding other sarcoma-like lesions involving the lung. The pathologist has an essential role in evaluating these tumors and will often be the first to suggest an unusual, alternative diagnosis, which may have significant implications for patient care, therapy, and prognosis.
July 9th, 2008. Primary pleural neoplasia: entities other than diffuse malignant mesothelioma
Conclusions: A nonexhaustive group of uncommon to rare benign and malignant primary pleural neoplasms— other than diffuse malignant mesothelioma—are presented, of which one must be aware in order to maintain an appropriate index of suspicion to include them in the differential diagnosis of a pleural tumor.
July 9th, 2008. A novel combination: ranpirnase and rosiglitazone induce a synergistic apoptotic effect by down-regulating Fra-1 and Survivin in cancer cells
The drug combination does not have a synergistic effect on killing in Fra-1 knockdown cells, showing that Fra-1 modulation accounts in part for the synergism. The novel drug combination of ranpirnase and rosiglitazone is a promising combination to treat cancers with increased PI3K-dependent Fra-1 expression or Survivin.
July 9th, 2008. Malignant mesothelioma: current status and perspective in Japan and the world
In this context, combination therapy with surgery plus chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy is currently considered the standard treatment for patients with respectable MPM. A national survey of EPP was conducted recently in Japan, and a few multicenter clinical trials will start soon.
Posted in Chemotherapy, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP), Full Archive, Pleural, Pleurectomy/decortication, Radiation, Staging, Surgery, thoracoscopy, Treatment, Trimodality Therapy, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
July 8th, 2008. Hemorrhagic mesenteric cystic lymphangioma presenting with acute lower abdominal pain: the diagnostic clues on MR Imaging
Cystic lymphangioma should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain. The detection of septal fat may be helpful in the diagnosis of cystic lymphangioma when it shows unusual radiological appearances.
July 4th, 2008. A pilot study with very low-intensity, intermediate-frequency electric fields in patients with locally advanced and/or metastatic solid tumors
Conclusion: Although the number of patients in this study is small, the lack of therapy toxicity and the efficacy observed in data gathered to date indicate the potential of TTFields as a new treatment modality for solid tumors, definitely warranting further investigation.
July 3rd, 2008. Multiple mechanisms of telomere maintenance exist and differentially affect clinical outcome in diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma
Conclusions: Our results indicate that both known telomere maintenance mechanisms, TA and ALT, are present in DMPM and differentially affect patient prognosis.
July 3rd, 2008. Pemetrexed plus cisplatin or pemetrexed plus carboplatin for chemonaïve patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma: results of the International Expanded Access Program
Conclusion: This large EAP confirmed the activity of pemetrexed plus cisplatin and pemetrexed plus carboplatin in chemonaive patients with MPM, demonstrating clinically similar time to progressive disease and 1-year survival rates.
July 3rd, 2008. Single-agent pemetrexed for chemonaïve and pretreated patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma: results of an International Expanded Access Program
Conclusions: In the present expanded access program, single-agent pemetrexed demonstrated promising activity in MPM in both chemonaïve and pretreated patients, with TTPD of 6.0 and 4.9 months, respectively, 1-year survival >or=54.7%, and mild hematologic toxicity.
July 1st, 2008. Morbidity, mortality, mean survival, and the impact of histology on survival after pleurectomy in 64 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma
Conclusion: Our results show that pleurectomy can be performed as a means of palliation for advanced-stage disease with a low mortality rate and may, in fact, improve survival in patients with epithelial subtype as compared with historical controls in the literature with no surgical intervention.
Posted in Biphasic or Mixed, Determining Efficacy, Epithelioid, Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP), Full Archive, Pleural, Sarcomatoid, Surgery, Survival, Treatment, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
July 1st, 2008. Solitary fibrous pleural tumor
Further testing after excision revealed a solitary fibrous pleural tumor. A brief discussion of the clinical presentation and incidence of these tumors is included.
July 1st, 2008. Malignant mesothelioma with heterologous elements: clinicopathological correlation of 27 cases and literature review
Immunohistochemical labelling for cytokeratins is helpful in the distinction, but lack of labelling for cytokeratins in a spindle cell/sarcomatoid tumour does not exclude the diagnosis of mesothelioma, irrespective of the presence of heterologous elements. We suggest that if the anatomical distribution conforms to that of mesothelioma, a diagnosis of heterologous mesothelioma should be made in preference to a diagnosis of primary pleural osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma, regardless of cytokeratin positivity, as for conventional non-heterologous sarcomatoid mesothelioma.
Posted in Biphasic or Mixed, Causation, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Epithelioid, Full Archive, General, Immunohistochemistry or IHC, Peritoneal (Abdominal Mesothelioma), Pleural, Sarcomatoid, Survival, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
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