Fluorouracil and leucovorin with or without interferon alfa-2a as adjuvant treatment, in patients with high-risk colon cancer: a randomized phase III study conducted by the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group.

Background: It has been shown in randomized studies that adjuvant treatment with the combination of fluorouracil (FU) and levamisole reduced the risk of recurrence and deaths of patients with stage III colon cancer. Pharmacological studies of FU led to its use in combination with a number of modulating agents including interferon-alpha and leucovorin (LV) that appear to enhance its activity in vitro. Furthermore, a meta-analysis suggested that the combination of FU with LV increased the response rate as compared to FU monotherapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Myoelectric assessment of large bowel viability: an experiment in dogs.

Objective: To design a device for myoelectric assessment of intestinal ischaemia and compare it with every day surgical experience and Doppler signals recorded on the bowel wall.

Design: Experimental study.

Setting: Thessaloniki university hospital, Greece.

Uncommon sites of hydatid disease.

Echinococcosis remains an endemic surgical problem in many Mediterranean countries. We report our experience with such cases when the disease is located in uncommon sites, outside the liver and lungs. This study was an effort similar to a previous one but with more cases and additional information.

Hanging noncalculous gallbladder.

The removal of acalculous and not acutely inflamed gall-bladder in patients with typical biliary pain remains a questionable procedure. This study was conducted to present our experience. In the period 1982-90, 1089 cases of calculous and acalculous gallbladder disease were treated in our clinic.

Subtotal cholecystectomy.

Subtotal cholecystectomy has been carried out in 34 patients from 1972 to 1992. In the same period 1620 total cholecystectomies were performed. The indications were severe inflammation and/or severe fibrosis in 31 patients, and Mirizzi syndrome type 1 in 3 patients.