Elevated pretreatment lactate dehydrogenase and albumin-to-alkaline phosphatase ratio predict poor prognosis and early treatment discontinuation in head and neck cancer patients with preexistent diabetes mellitus.

Increased serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity is considered as a marker of cellular necrosis and serves as a metabolomic diagnostic marker in several types of cancer including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). LDH, an enzyme involved in the glycolytic cycle, is correlated not only with the activation of oncogenes such as HIF-α and Myc, but also with effects such as tumor proliferation and metastasis. Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a marker of cell differentiation and tumor induction.

The Prognostic Value of Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio, Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio, and Monocyte-Lymphocyte Ratio in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC)-A Retrospective Single Center Study and a Literature Review.

Introduction: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and pallets-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are currently validated as cheap and accessible biomarkers in different types of solid tumors, including head and neck cancers (HNC).

The Purpose Of The Study: To evaluate the possible purposes and biomarker value of NLR, PLR, and MLR recorded pre-treatment (radiotherapy/chemotherapy) in HNC.

Materials And Methods: From 190 patients with HNC included in the oncology records in the oncology outpatient clinic of the Craiova County Emergency Hospital (from January 2002 to December 2022), 39 cases met the inclusion criteria (squamous cell carcinoma and the possibility to calculate the pre-treatment (chemotherapy/radiotherapy) value of NLR, PLR, and MLR.

Lung cancer and type 2 diabetes experience in Dolj County (southwest region of Romania) - a clinical, bioclinical and pathological study.

Background And Aim: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cancer, the most important public health problems nowadays, and the mechanisms between the presence of diabetes and the development of malignancies remain unclear. The leading cause of cancer death in 2020 is attributed to lung cancer. This study aimed to highlight the impact of the association of these two diseases and the predominant histopathological type of lung cancer in the selected group, glycemic imbalance, and information about the course and outlook for these patients.

Head and Neck Low Grade Chondrosarcoma-A Rare Entity.

Chondrosarcoma represents approximately 0.1% of all neoplasms of the head and neck and is considered a rare disease with a relatively good prognosis. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate is estimated at 70-80%, being considered a disease with a low growth rate.

Cancer and Diabetes: Predictive Factors in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.

Background And Objectives: A growing number of epidemiological studies have suggested that diabetes mellitus may increase cancer risk and is implicated in numerous other metabolic and inflammatory disorders. The increase in proinflammatory cytokines plays a major role in insulin resistance and leads to hypoalbuminemia and micro- and macrovascular diabetes complications, including kidney disease and anemia. This study aimed to investigate the utility of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin level, hemoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as biomarkers for cancer risk, and the biological implications of diabetes on the evolution and prognosis of oncological patients.

Immunotherapy with PD-1 Inhibitor Nivolumab in Recurrent/Metastatic Platinum Refractory Head and Neck Cancers-Early Experiences from Romania and Literature Review.

Prognosis in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy is poor, making therapy optimization a priority. Anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) monoclonal antibody Nivolumab was approved in such cases. We present the early experience with Nivolumab immunotherapy at three cancer clinics from south and northeast Romania, aiming to describe the main characteristics and outcomes relative to literature reports, and to suggest patient selection criteria.

Implications of diabetes in head and neck cancer - A single center real-world data.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and altered glucose metabolism have been associated with carcinogenesis, but also with prognosis and tolerance to treatment in different types of cancer. Head and neck cancers (HNC), the sixth most common malignancy worldwide, require a multimodal approach, especially in advanced stages and cancer specific treatment is often associated with therapeutic failure and severe toxicities even if it is delivered according to current standards. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical, biological and outcomes implications of DM in patients with HNC.

Therapeutical Attitude and Analysis of Results in Brain Metastases.

Objectives - The aim of this study is to assess therapeutic outcomes in patients presenting with brain metastases as the first manifestation of malignancies either as a final stage in the evolution of malignancies. Materials and methods - We've performed a complex retrospective study on a total of 81 patients with brain metastases treated in Medical Oncology Clinic of the Emergency County Hospital Craiova between 1 January 2005-31 December 2010. Results - The average age of women (55 years) was statistically significantly low compared to men (64 years) (p = 0.

Histoprognostic markers role in colorectal cancer.

Malignant tumors with digestive location are, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Romania, the constant increase of prevalence and incidence of colorectal cancer awarded it the status of priority public health problem. The study aimed to identify specific aspects of colorectal cancer histoprognosis that may be associated with a higher frequency of the disease.

Clinical, Histological and Prognosis Correlations in Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastric Cancer.

The study authors have proposed to highlight the main epidemiologic and prognostic aspects of digestive malignancies in the Dolj county population, justifying the need for permanent and detailed estimate of this phenomenon. The authors of the study have proposed to outline a descriptive epidemiological panel, characteristic for the population groups at risk of developing gastric cancers and establishing clinical factors (tumor location, disease stage, type of surgery) and histological factors (histopathological type, degree of tumor differentiation) with prognostic significance having as landmark, survival rate at 5 years or disease-free survival of 5 years. Results The study was conducted on a sample of 458 patients with gastric tumors endoscopically detected, histologically confirmed and treated between 2000-2010.

More than 9 years of continuous trastuzumab treatment in metastatic breast cancer without cardiac toxicity: a case report and literature review.

The main concern of long-term use of trastuzumab remains its association with potential cardiac side effects. Although these side effects are real, they are probably overemphasized. We report the case of a woman with metastatic breast cancer, who is currently in complete remission, and who received trastuzumab continuously for more than 9 years, without any significant cardiac toxicity.

Study of the diagnosis and treatment of cancer located in the head and neck and correlation with expression of prognostic markers.

A prospective study made by authors was initiated in 2000 in order to analyze differences in terms of response rate, overall survival and progression free survival for patients with advanced head and neck carcinoma treated with radiotherapy vs. radiochemotherapy, respectively and to analyze the role of modern molecular biomarkers in the prognosis of these patients (p53, EGFR and Ki67). It was detected one significant difference appeared between the two groups for response rate (p<0.

Vertebral bone metastasis in breast cancer: a case report.

Background: We report here a case of a 66-year-old woman with a very aggressive form of breast carcinoma, having both liver and bone dissemination points.

Case Description: The patient was admitted for a rapid onset disk-herniation-like syndrome, but which on further investigation proved to be in fact a metastatic case of breast cancer. We found evidence of disseminations at least in the lumbar vertebral bodies and the liver.

Evaluation of women knowledge and attitude regarding cervical cancer early detection.

At European level, Romania unfortunately comes first as far as mortality due to cervical cancer is concerned, mortality rate recording a continuous increase due to disease detection in advanced stages. In this context, we followed an assessment of women's cognitive and attitudinal fund in relation to early detection of cervical cancer, through the application of a questionnaire on a batch of 617 women with ages from 18 to 75-year-old, with various levels of education, residents of Craiova City and communes from Dolj County. Statistic processing of their answers indicates that 43.

Recent data about the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in oncogenesis of head and neck cancer.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a small circular DNA-virus and the high-risk types 16, 18 is implicated in oncogenesis of head and neck cancer--especially oropharynx (tonsil and base of tongue), poorly differentiated (the basaloid type), locoregional advanced stage, poorly differentiated, at the younger male, non-smokers, non-drinkers, sexual behaviors. The prognostic is favorable of human papillomavirus tumor status for patients with oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiotherapy (accelerated fractionation without total dose reduction). The impact of HPV-vaccination (ACIP 2007) decreasing the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer, but that patients HPV-positive, have good prognostic in generally (two-year overall survival: 95%, two-year progression-free survival: 88%), therefore HPV-vaccination in routine practice it is controversy.

[Comparison between continuous epidural instillation of ropivacaine and bupivacaine in patients with lung cancer].

We compared the efficiency of continuous epidural analgesia with ropivacaine and bupivacaine in patients with lung carcinoma stages IIIB and IV. We studied 25 patients aged 48-70 years, divided in two groups A (13 patients) and B (12 patients). Group A received continuous epidural infusion with ropivacaine 0.

[Diagnosis of nosocomial pneumonia: conventional and new indicators].

Nosocomial pneumonia is difficult to diagnose. Clinical criteria, saliva and tracheal specimen cultures can be sensitive to bacterial pathogeny, they are however nonspecific in patients with assisted mechanical ventilation; on the other hand, blood and pleural liquid cultures have very poor sensitivity. Fever and leukocytosis are not constant signs and are not compulsory for diagnosing nosocomial pneumonia (NP).

The value of serum and tissular expression of CA 125 antigen, in evaluation of the response to second line chemotherapy for the relapsed ovarian carcinoma.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the predicted value of the blood levels variations of CA 125 antigen and the imunohistochemical expression of CA 125, with imagistic criteria (The Response Evaluation Criteran in Solid Tumor--RECIST) regarding the survival estimation of female patients with relapsed ovarian carcinoma which undergo to second line chemotherapy.

Material And Method: We included in this study 40 female patients diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma in the Oncology Clinic of the Emergency County Hospital Craiova, in a period of two years (from 2000 to 2002), which have fulfilled the following criteria: ovarian carcinoma IC-IV stage, according to FIGO system, first line treatment represented by the association between paclitaxel and a platinum salt, refractory or recurrent disease, indications for beginning the second line chemotherapy represented by topotecan or paclitaxel and carboplatin. The serial CA 125 antigen was determined in all patients before starting the chemotherapy and after each two sequences of chemotherapy, and the imunohistochemical expression of CA 125 was evaluated from surgery extracts before the second line chemotherapy (11 cases).

Preliminary study concerning the cytoscreen system importance (liquid based cytology) in gynecologic cytology.

Our study aims to present the principal and the advantage of using the Liquid Based Cytology method by Cytoscreen system, as an alternative to the conventional Babes-Papanicolaou test, by reducing the false negative results frequency due to the poor quality of the smears and the epithelial cell screening by the blood elements, mucus or inflammatory exudates. A set of 1 054 female patients was available to be investigated during 2002-2004 both in the Clinical Gynaecology of The Clinical Hospital Filantropia and the Clinic of Oncology of the Clinical County Emergency Hospital of Craiova; the patients were from the rural and urban places as well; they underwent cytologic screening by Cytoscreen method. We simultaneously performed the cytologic exam by using both the Cytoscreen and the conventional Papanicolaou methods in 220 patients; the rest of them, namely 834 patients, were examined just by Cytoscreen method.

Immunological approach in the diagnosis, therapy and prognosis of the exocrine pancreatic cancer.

The aim of the paper is to outline the most important up-to-date methods regarding the immunological approach in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the exocrine pancreatic cancer, keeping in mind that this localisation of neoplastic disease represents the 5th cause of cancer-related death and especially, an important cause of morbidity. This disease, diagnosed in the past in later stages, being therefore associated with poor results, has turned to be characterized by increasing survival rates due to the improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Regarding the diagnosis strategy, progress was made in imagistic sphera, aiming: 1.

[The descriptive epidemiological aspects of bronchopulmonary neoplasms in Dolj County].

This study represents a descriptive epidemiologic analysis of the morbidity and mortality incidence by lung cancer in Dolj. The usual processing of the registered values in primary evidences (report of the new cases to 100,000 residents) is in accordance with the literature about the variation of the incidence depending on residential environment and sex greater values in urban environment and at man, beginning from the fifth decade of life. The epidemiologic analysis by indirect standardisation of the mortality and the morbidity emphasizes in Dolj higher incidence up to the media of the Dolj, specially in the rural environment, aspects that suggest the intervention of the environmental factors and behaviour factors in the etiology of the lung cancer.

[The diagnostic and treatment aspects in bronchopulmonary neoplasms in Dolj County].

The study carried out during 1991-1995 concerns 50 subjects with lung cancer confirmed by microscopy registered in the Oncology Department of Craiova University Hospital. The patients were studied on terms of clinical stage which indicated the regime of treatment associations: surgery + chemotherapy + radiotherapy, chemo-radiotherapy, chemo-immunotherapy, in order to improve surviving. The treatment results were assayed for each group of patients according to the international criteria of treatment response evaluation.