ISSLS PRIZE in basic science 2023: Lactate in lumbar discs-metabolic waste or energy biofuel? Insights from in vivo MRS and T2r analysis following exercise and nimodipine in healthy volunteers.

Purpose: To quantitatively assess the dynamic changes of Lactate in lumbar discs under different physiological conditions using MRS and T2r.

Methods: In step1, MRS and T2r sequences were standardized in 10 volunteers. Step2, analysed effects of high cellular demand.

Gauze for concern: A Case Report and systematic review of delayed presentation of paraspinal textiloma.

Unlabelled: Textilomas, gossypibomas, muslinomas and gauzomas, otherwise collectively known as Retained Non-absorbable Hemostatic Material (RNHM), are surgical materials such as cotton or gauze pads that are accidentally retained in the surgical bed post-operatively. They may present acutely with signs of infection or may rarely remain chronic and asymptomatic; the latter posing a significant challenge to clinical and imaging diagnosis. Textilomas are not routinely reported due to their medicolegal implications and are usually encountered fortuitously.

Plasma Cell Dyscrasia: A Case Series of a Masquerader.

Plasma cell dyscrasia is a result of an abnormal clonal proliferation of plasma cells. These cells arise from B cells in the bone marrow and produce immunoglobulins. Multiple myeloma is a type of plasma cell dyscrasia that commonly presents with symptoms secondary to hypercalcemia, hyperviscosity, renal failure, and bone pain.

Epirubicin versus CMF as adjuvant therapy for stage I and II breast cancer: a prospective randomised study.

We compared a relatively short regimen of monochemotherapy with epirubicin versus polychemotherapy with CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil) as adjuvant treatment for stage I and II breast cancer patients. 348 patients with oestrogen receptor negative (ER-) node negative and ER- or ER+ node-positive with <10 nodes were accrued. CMF was given intravenously (i.

FEC (5-fluorouracil, epidoxorubicin and cyclophosphamide) versus EM (epidoxorubicin and mitomycin-C) with or without lonidamine as first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer. A multicentric randomised study. Final results.

From May 1991 to December 1996, 326 patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer were enrolled in a multicentre, randomised, phase III clinical trial with four arms. Patients were randomised to receive chemotherapy according to the FEC regimen (5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 500 mg/m2, epidoxorubicin (EPI) 75 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide (CFA) 500 mg/m2, intravenously (i.v.

Gemcitabine monotherapy in elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a multicenter phase II study.

Background: This trial investigated the activity and toxicity of gemcitabine in previously untreated elderly (> 70 years) patients with advanced (stage IIIB-IV) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: From January 1997 to July 1998, 46 patients with advanced NSCLC aged over 70 years with a performance status of 0-2 were entered into the study. Gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 was administered as a 30-min infusion once a week for 3 weeks followed by a week of rest; cycles were repeated every 4 weeks.

Favorable impact of low-dose fludarabine plus epirubicin and cyclophosphamide regimen (FLEC) as treatment for low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Background And Objective: In recent years, conventional dose of fludarabine (FLU) alone or in combination with other drugs has been reported to be effective in the treatment of low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (LG-NHL). In particular, FLU and cyclophosphamide (CY) or FLU and mitoxantrone or idarubicin combined regimens have shown considerable therapeutic activity both as first line and salvage therapies, producing overall response rates ranging from 40-50% in previously treated patients and up to 70-90% in untreated ones. However severe neutropenia and infective complications have been reported in a significant number of patients.

High-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil alone or combined with hydroxyurea in advanced colorectal cancer: a randomized trial of the Italian Oncology Group for Clinical Research.

Patients with histologically confirmed advanced colorectal cancer were randomized to receive folinic acid (FA; 500 mg/mq in 2-hour intravenous infusion) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU; 600 mg/mq given as an intravenous bolus 1 hour after FA), beginning every week for 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week rest period, either without hydroxyurea (HU, arm A) or with HU (35 mg/kg per day) given orally in three administrations (every 8 hours) starting 6 hours after 5FU administration (arm B). Six weekly doses were considered one course. One hundred eighty-two patients were randomized in this trial and 162 (89%) were evaluable for response: 81 patients in arm A and 81 patients in arm B.

Carboplatin and vinorelbine in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a multicenter phase II study.

The aim of this study was to identify a chemotherapy combination that would be active and well tolerated for palliative treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). From February 1992 to December 1994, a total of 77 patients affected by stage-IIIB and stage-IV NSCLC were treated with carboplatin 350 mg/m2 on day 1 and vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 of each cycle, with cycles repeated every 28 days. All patients were evaluable for response and toxicity.

2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine in the treatment of relapsed/refractory chronic lymphoproliferative disorders.

2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) is a purine analog with cytotoxic activity on both resting and cycling lymphocytes which has been used as salvage therapy in advanced/resistant chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. In our study 39 patients (19 B-CLL, 5 B-PLL, 9 low-grade B-NHL, 5 CTCL and 1 high-grade T-NHL) who relapsed or became resistant after 1-4 chemotherapy regimens were treated with 2-CdA 6 mg/m2 per day by 2 h infusion for 5 d every 28 d. The overall clinical response rate, including complete remission (CR) and partial remission (PR), was 66%.

Phase II study of vinorelbine/ifosfamide/cisplatin for the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the combination of vinorelbine, ifosfamide and cisplatin (VIP) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Seventy-six untreated patients with stages IIIB-IV NSCLC; the chemotherapy regimen consisted of vinorelbine (25 mg/sqm on days 1 and 8), ifosfamide (3 g/sqm on day 1 with uroprotective mesna), and cisplatin (80 mg/sqm on day 1). The cycles were administered on an outpatient basis every 3 weeks.

High-dose versus low-dose cisplatin in combination with cyclophosphamide and epidoxorubicin in suboptimal ovarian cancer: a randomized study of the Gruppo Oncologico Nord-Ovest.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare high-versus low-dose cisplatin in combination with cyclophosphamide and epidoxorubicin as primary chemotherapy for suboptimal stage III and IV ovarian cancer.

Patients And Methods: One hundred forty-five patients were randomized to receive six courses of cisplatin 50 or 100 mg/m2 plus epidoxorubicin 60 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2. The two treatment arms were well balanced; all patients had greater than 2 cm and 37.

Fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and mitomycin combination versus PELF chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer: a prospective randomized trial of the Italian Oncology Group for Clinical Research.

Purpose: The combination of cisplatin, epirubicin, and leucovorin preceding fluorouracil (PELF) includes three novel agents compared with the standard combination of fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and mitomycin (FAM) in the treatment of advanced gastric carcinoma. We report the results of a prospective randomized comparison of the two combinations in previously untreated patients.

Patients And Methods: One hundred thirty assessable patients were entered onto the trial; 52 received FAM and 85 PELF.

Combination chemotherapy with vinorelbine, ifosfamide, and cisplatin: a phase II study in stage IIIB-IV non-small cell lung cancer.

Forty-five stage IIIB-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients entered a phase II study designed to evaluate the toxicity and the activity of a combination chemotherapy regimen consisting of vinorelbine (25 mg/m2 days 1 and 8), ifosfamide (3 g/m2 day 1 with uroprotective mesna), and cisplatin (80 mg/m2 day 1). The regimen, VIP, was administered on an outpatient basis every 3 weeks. White blood cell counts were checked weekly, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor was administered in case of grade 4 neutropenia lasting for more than 48 hours.

Combination chemotherapy with epirubicin and mitomycin C as first-line treatment in advanced breast cancer.

From December 1988 to February 1991, 112 consecutive patients were submitted to epirubicin + mitomycin C chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer. Epirubicin (75 mg/m2) was given every 3 weeks and mitomycin C (10 mg/m2) every 6 weeks. Only patients with visceral involvement or with a disease-free interval of less than 12 months were considered eligible.

Conventional versus high-dose epidoxorubicin as single agent in advanced breast cancer.

Between March 1986 and December 1987, two groups of consecutive patients with advanced breast cancer underwent epidoxorubicin (Epidx) monochemotherapy. Twenty-three patients (group A) received Epidx at a dose of 60 mg/m2 and 27 (group B) at a dose of 120 mg/m2 (i.v.

Carboplatin and vindesine in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. A feasibility study.

Twenty-eight patients affected by advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were enrolled in a feasibility study evaluating toxicity and activity of carboplatin-vindesine combination chemotherapy, according to two different schedules. Fourteen patients were treated with carboplatin 350 mg/m2 monthly and vindesine 3 mg/m2 weekly for 5 doses, then every other week (schedule 1). The activity observed was promising with 3 partial remissions, but the toxicity was substantial, preventing full dose administration in 11 out of 14 patients.

Hairy cell leukemia variant: a morphologic, immunologic and clinical study of 7 cases.

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL), a well-recognized chronic lymphoproliferative disorder, is frequently characterized by pancytopenia, monocytopenia, splenomegaly and marrow fibrosis, which typically leads to an unsuccessful bone marrow aspiration (dry tap). Patients with a high white cell count without neutropenia and/or monocytopenia, with an aspirable and hypercellular marrow, splenomegaly and neoplastic cells with hairy cell features have been recently recognized and classified as HCL variants. We report here the clinical, hematological and immunological features of 7 such cases.

Weekly epirubicin in advanced breast cancer.

Twenty-nine advanced breast cancer patients, considered unable to tolerate conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, were treated with a weekly schedule of epirubicin (15 mg/m2 i.v.).

T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia: a clinical and immunological study.

2 cases of T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) were investigated for their reactivity with a series of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) as well as for the cytochemical expression and functional activity of the pathological cells. Both patients showed morphological (large cells with abundant cytoplasm and eccentric and irregularly shaped nucleus with large and prominent nucleoli) and clinical (high leucocyte count and splenomegaly) features typical of T-PLL. The cells from 1 patient expressed a helper/inducer phenotype (T4+, T8-) and were reactive with the anti-Tac (interleukin-2 receptor) MoAb, while the other case co-expressed both the T4 and the T8 antigens.

Radio-chemotherapeutic management of bone diffusion from breast carcinoma.

A combined modality therapy (irradiation plus low-dose Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide) was delivered to 41 patient affected by extensive bone diffusion from breast carcinoma. A 36% (15/41) objective response rate was obtained, no change was also detectable in 36%, while progressive disease in 28% (11/41). A subjective response was achieved in 37/41 patients, i.