Archive for the 'Symptoms & Symptom Management' Category

January 6th, 2009. Telomerase Activity in Effusions: A Comparison Between Telomere Repeat Amplification Protocol In Situ and Conventional Telomere Repeat Amplification Protocol Assay
Conclusions: The TRAP in situ results correlated to final diagnoses, whereas the cell lysate–based TRAP assay did not differentiate between malignant and benign cases. The varying proportions of positive cells and the variation in fluorescence intensity in the TRAP in situ slides explained some of the discrepancies. The problems encountered with TRAP performed on cell lysates are partly overcome using TRAP in situ.
December 25th, 2008. Malignant pleural effusion as the presenting site of cancer: comparison with metastatic pleural effusions from known cancers
Conclusion: Pleural effusions as the presenting site of cancer account for 41% of all malignant pleural effusions. Their causes are mainly lung cancer in men and lung and ovarian cancers in women.
December 23rd, 2008. Malignant mesothelioma
Compensation issues must also be considered. Life expectancy in malignant mesothelioma is poor, with a median survival of about one year following diagnosis.
Posted in Benign, CT or CAT scan, Causation, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Environmental Asbestos Exposure, Full Archive, General, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Pericardial, Peritoneal (Abdominal Mesothelioma), Pleural, Survival, Symptoms & Symptom Management, Treatment, Trimodality Therapy, Tunica Vaginalis Testis, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
December 18th, 2008. Medical thoracoscopic talc pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusion: an analysis of 27 cases
Conclusion: Medical thoracoscopic talc poudrage pleurodesis is a safe and effective method for the treatment of malignant pleural effusion.
November 28th, 2008. Biomarkers for malignant pleural mesothelioma: current status
Future research efforts should focus on biomarkers predictive of the efficacy and toxicity of standard chemotherapy. Translational research should be systematically incorporated into the design of clinical trials assessing new targeted agents in MPM.
November 11th, 2008. Role of viral induced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production in pleural effusion and malignant mesothelioma
To show the specific effect of viral receptors knockdown experiments with siRNA for TLR3, RIG-I and MDA5 were performed. This finding of viral induced mesothelial VEGF synthesis may indicate a novel link between viral infections and formation of pleural effusions and progression of malignant mesothelioma.
November 8th, 2008. Transudates in Malignancy: Still a Role for Pleural Fluid
Conclusions: Cytological examination of pleural fluid in patients with unexplained transudative effusion is essential to rule out malignant processes.
November 5th, 2008. Polyneuropathy in a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma: a paraneoplastic syndrome
The patient was treated with immunoglobulin and prednisolone, and this resulted in subjective, objective, and paraclinical improvement of the symptoms. We therefore suggest that polyneuropathy is a possible paraneoplastic syndrome in MPM.
October 31st, 2008. Semi-rigid thoracoscopy for undiagnosed exudative pleural effusions: a comparative study
Conclusions: Medical thoracoscopy is a simple, safe, and cost-effective tool, with a high positive rate. Physicians should extend its access to proper patients if the facilities for medical thoracoscopy are available.
October 22nd, 2008. A case of solid pseudopapillary tumour of the pancreas and malignant mesothelioma
Discussion: An abdominal computerised tomogram revealed pancreatic body mass arising. Pleural fluid cytology and a pleural biopsy failed to demonstrate malignancy. The pancreatic tumour was resected by distal pancreatectomy, segmental colectomy and splenectomy. The tumour was a solid pseudopapillary pancreatic tumour (SPT) with a high metastatic potential. The patient deteriorated and a repeat biopsy of the thickened pleura confirmed malignancy which was initially thought to be metastases from the SPT. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed malignant mesothelioma. The patient developed liver metastases and died 2 years from the diagnosis of metastatic disease.
Posted in CT or CAT scan, Case Study, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Full Archive, Immunohistochemistry or IHC, Pleural Effusion, Surgery, Survival, Symptoms & Symptom Management, Treatment, Type of Assessment: | No Comments »
October 18th, 2008. Expression and Regulation of Epithelial Na+ Channels by Nucleotides in Pleural Mesothelial Cells
Furthermore, we found that both forskolin and cGMP increased the short-circuit currents in mouse pleural tissues. Taken together, our data demonstrate that the ENaC channels are biochemically and functionally expressed in human pleural mesothelial cells, and can be up-regulated by cAMP and cGMP.
October 16th, 2008. Cardiac tamponade as primary manifestation of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AILT). Coexistence with malignant mesothelioma
Conclusion: CT as primary clinical manifestation of AILT is very rare. This case reflects the differences in the underlying biology of AILT and consequently the vast spectrum of its clinical presentations. Coexistence of AILT with malignant pleural mesothelioma is also extremely rare.
September 23rd, 2008. Pleural fluid findings as prognostic factors for malignant pleural mesothelioma
However, none of these variables emerged as statistically significant from the multivariate Cox model. In conclusion, our results showed that there is an inverse correlation between the intensity of inflammation and survival.
September 9th, 2008. Clinical consequences of asbestos-related diffuse pleural thickening: A review
It causes a restrictive defect on lung function and may rarely result in respiratory failure and death. Treatment is primarily supportive.
Posted in CT or CAT scan, Causation, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Environmental Asbestos Exposure, Full Archive, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, PET Scan, Pleural Effusion, Symptoms & Symptom Management, Treatment, Type of Assessment: | No Comments »
July 23rd, 2008. Long-term indwelling pleural catheter (PleurX) for malignant pleural effusion unsuitable for talc pleurodesis
Conclusions: An indwelling pleural catheter is a safe alternative for patients with malignant pleural effusion unsuitable for talc pleurodesis. In some, pleural fusion may be achieved.
July 22nd, 2008. Prevalence and Pattern of Lymph Node Metastasis in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Conclusions: The pattern of nodal metastases may be different from that of lung cancer, and multicenter studies are needed to evaluate this observation.
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.
June 28th, 2008. Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Pleural Diseases
We summarized the most relevant data for the diagnosis and the management of benign asbestos pleural effusions, pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening and rounded atelectasis. Special attention is dedicated to malignant pleural mesothelioma, given the challenging issues of this disease, the recent advances in its management and the dynamism of research in this area.
June 27th, 2008. Paget disease of the humerus mimicking metastatic disease in a patient with metastatic malignant mesothelioma on whole body F-18 FDG PET/CT
The corresponding CT scan findings of cortical thickening and a "Swiss cheese" appearance were most consistent with Paget disease. The intense FDG uptake in an osseous lesion on FDG-PET in our case reminds us of the variable nature of FDG uptake in Paget disease, the possibility of false-positive findings on FDG-PET in patients with cancer, and the usefulness of the fusion techniques in the evaluation of skeletal lesions, with the potential for discriminating between benign Paget disease and other pathologic bone findings.
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