Arthroscopic labral repair with all-suture anchors: a magnetic resonance imaging retrospective study with a 2.5-year follow-up.

Aim To evaluate radiological and clinical outcomes of a case series of patients affected by glenohumeral instability (Bankart lesion) or superior labrum tear from anterior to posterior (SLAP) lesions treated by arthroscopic repair using all-suture anchors. Methods Patients were operated by a single surgeon at a single Institution. Exclusion criteria were chondral lesions of the glenoid, rotator cuff lesions, previous surgery at the index shoulder, or a bony Bankart lesion.

Pattern of care and effectiveness of treatment for glioblastoma patients in the real world: Results from a prospective population-based registry. Could survival differ in a high-volume center?

Background: As yet, no population-based prospective studies have been conducted to investigate the incidence and clinical outcome of glioblastoma (GBM) or the diffusion and impact of the current standard therapeutic approach in newly diagnosed patients younger than aged 70 years.

Methods: Data on all new cases of primary brain tumors observed from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2010, in adults residing within the Emilia-Romagna region were recorded in a prospective registry in the Project of Emilia Romagna on Neuro-Oncology (PERNO). Based on the data from this registry, a prospective evaluation was made of the treatment efficacy and outcome in GBM patients.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer: a case report of a long term survival patient and review of literature data.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a very rare disease accounting for less than 2% of all thyroid malignancies and associated to a dismal prognosis. The median survival is between 3 to 9 months with less than 10% of patients alive at 3 years after the time of diagnosis. This low cure rate is due to the late clinical presentation as a bulky unresectable tumour mass often associated with synchronous lung metastases (20-50%).

Is effective and safe a radiochemotherapy approach in elderly cancer patients? A review.

Although more than 60% of all cancer patients in Europe and the USA are older than 65 years at the time of diagnosis, elderly patients are generally under-represented in clinical trials. A general consensus on how to treat elderly patients is still far from being achieved. In this review, we address some of the issues and challenges surrounding the treatment of older cancer patients and radiochemotherapy.

Hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy after transarterial chemoembolisation failure in an unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a case presentation.

Introduction. Transarterial chemoembolization is the first-line treatment in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. There is no standard treatment after transarterial chemoembolization failure.

Ruthenium-106 eye plaque brachytherapy in the conservative treatment of uveal melanoma: a mono-institutional experience.

Background: Traditional treatment for uveal melanoma is the enucleation of the eye with outcomes cosmetically unacceptable and loss of useful vision. Plaque brachytherapy, compared to enucleation, had the advantage to preserve the eye with outcomes cosmetically acceptable and preservation of vision.

Patients And Methods: From July 1990 to December 2009 one hundred forty-two (142) patients (51 males and 91 females) with small to medium uveal melanoma were treated with 106Ru plaque brachytherapy.

Radiotherapy and hepatocellular carcinoma: update and review of the literature.

Historically radiotherapy has always played a limited role for the treatment of HCC due to the low tolerance of the liver and the subsequent risk of radiation induced liver disease (RILD). Technologist advancements in radiation planning and treatment delivery such as Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) combined with Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) has allowed us to further increase tumor dose while maximally sparing the surrounding not involved liver. Furthermore, together with the growing knowledge of radiobiological models in liver disease, several mono-institutional retrospective and prospective series are reporting very encouraging results.

CA125 reference values change in male and postmenopausal female subjects.

Background: In cancer patients, including women with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is used to evaluate the presence of peritoneal involvement. The aims of the present study were to assess CA125 reference intervals and reference change values (RCV) in postmenopausal reference women, postmenopausal women breast cancer free, reference men and cancer free men.

Methods: The series consisted of 433 subjects: 105 postmenopausal breast cancer free women and 56 cancer free men in addition to a total of 272 reference subjects (145 postmenopausal women and 127 men).

Metabolic responses in non-small cell lung cancer after hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy PET and hypofractionated radiotherapy.

Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate the pattern of local failure after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lesions relating to different type of 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) response.

Methods: Thirteen NSCLC patients for a total of 15 lesions (primary early or locally advanced and metastases) underwent PET before and 6 months after SBRT. Maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) <2.

Chronic anemia due to mitomycin C is drug dose-dependent, normocytic, progressive, related to erythropoietin levels and quantitatively predictable: implications for radiochemotherapy.

Mitomycin C (MC) is used as therapy against solid tumors, also combined with other chemotherapeutic agents or radiotherapy. It may cause acute, subacute, or chronic anemia capable of modifying the results of chemo- and radiotherapy. Erythropoietin may be lowered by cancer itself or because of chemoradiotherapy.

Adjuvant radiotherapy on older and oldest breast cancer patients after conservative surgery: a retrospective analysis.

Purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of adjuvant radiotherapy, in terms of feasibility and activity, in women aged ≥ 75 years with early (stage) breast cancer. From January 2000 to December 2007, 131 consecutive patients aged 75 years or older received adjuvant radiotherapy after breast conserving surgery. Eighty-two patients received radiotherapy in combination with 5 years of hormone therapy with tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor.

Can chemotherapy concomitantly delivered with radiotherapy improve survival of patients with resectable rectal cancer? A meta-analysis of literature data.

Background: There is clear evidence from two systematic reviews that radiotherapy (RT) reduces the risk of local recurrence in patients with resectable rectal cancer, though the data on survival are still equivocal.

Objective: To assess the effects of chemotherapy combined concomitantly with radiotherapy (CRT) on the increase of overall survival, and on the prevention of local recurrence and distant metastases.

Data Sources: Computerized bibliographic searches of MEDLINE and CANCERLIT (1970-2008) were supplemented with hand searches of reference lists.

Safety and efficacy of radiotherapy treatment in elderly patients with localized prostate cancer: a retrospective analysis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and the activity of radiotherapy treatment in patients aged ≥75 with prostate cancer (PC). From January 2000 to December 2007, 107 consecutive patients aged ≥75 years received radiotherapy with radical intent for PC. Eighty-one patients received radiotherapy in combination with a 6 months androgen suppression therapy.

Glioblastoma in elderly patients: safety and efficacy of adjuvant radiotherapy with concomitant temozolomide.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ), in terms of feasibility and activity, in elderly patients with glioblastoma. From January 2002 to December 2007, 42 consecutive patients with glioblastoma (27 men and 15 women) aged 65 years or more (median age 71.3 years), received radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant TMZ.

Safety and feasibility of radiotherapy treatment in elderly non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and activity of radiotherapy (RT) treatment in elderly patients with locally advanced lung cancer. From January 2002 to December 2007, 51 consecutive patients (43 men and 8 women) aged > or = 65 received RT for locally advanced lung cancer, 22 with radical intent and 16 in adjuvant setting. Thirty-six patients received chemotherapy.

Adjuvant radiotherapy on older and oldest elderly rectal cancer patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of radiotherapy in terms of feasibility and activity in the patients aged > or = 75 with advanced rectal cancer. From January 2002 to December 2006, 41 consecutive patients (27 men and 14 women) aged > or = 75 received radiotherapy for local advanced rectal cancer, 9 in a pre-operative and 22 in a post-operative setting. Sixteen patients received concomitant chemotherapy.

The impact of radiotherapy on survival in resectable gastric carcinoma: a meta-analysis of literature data.

Background: The benefit of external radiotherapy for gastric carcinoma has been extensively studied, but data on survival are still equivocal.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of surgery combined with preoperative radiotherapy or postoperative chemoradiotherapy in the reduction of all-cause mortality in patients with resectable gastric carcinoma.

Methods: Computerised bibliographic searches of MEDLINE and CANCERLIT (1970-2006) were supplemented with hand searches of reference lists.

MR enteroclysis using iron oxide particles (ferristene) as an endoluminal contrast agent: an open phase III trial.

To evaluate efficacy and safety of a superparamagnetic iron oxide contrast agent (ferristene) as an endoluminal contrast medium for magnetic resonance (MR) enteroclysis in a phase III trial. Twenty-three patients with history of known or suspected small bowel Crohn's disease underwent MR imaging of the abdomen at 0.5 T unit.

Long-term safety of orbital radiotherapy for Graves' ophthalmopathy.

We investigated the long-term side-effects of orbital radiotherapy (OR) in 204 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), irradiated from 1972-1996 [44 by cobalt unit (CU) and 160 by linear accelerator (LA), mostly combined with glucocorticoids], with a 5- to 25-yr follow-up (median, 11 yr). Cataract was observed in 21 patients (10%) 3-21 yr after OR, with a higher (not significant) prevalence in CU-treated patients (18% vs. 8% in LA-treated patients).

[Role of transrectal ultrasonography in prostatic brachytherapy].

Unlabelled: The rationale for interstitial brachytherapy (seed implant) is based on the principle that dissipation of radiation energy in tissues decreases exponentially as the square of source would receive maximal doses of radiation, there will be a rapid fall-off the dose in surrounding normal tissues. Over the years, a range of isotopes have been tested, and the technique have evolved from free-hand implantation to ultrasound guided template system.

Materials And Methods: From September 2001 to March 2002 we treated 17 patients with clinically localized prostatic cancer.

Comparison of the effectiveness and tolerability of intravenous or oral glucocorticoids associated with orbital radiotherapy in the management of severe Graves' ophthalmopathy: results of a prospective, single-blind, randomized study.

Eighty-two consecutive patients with moderate-to-severe and active Graves' ophthalmopathy were randomly treated with orbital radiotherapy combined with either oral (prednisone; starting dose, 100 mg/d; withdrawal after 5 months) or iv (methylprednisolone; 15 mg/kg for four cycles and then 7.5 mg/kg for four cycles; each cycle consisted of two infusions on alternate days at 2-wk intervals) glucocorticoids. The two groups did not differ for age, gender, duration of hyperthyroidism and ophthalmopathy, prevalence of smokers, thyroid volume, and pretreatment ocular conditions.

Oral 5-fluorouracil in squamous cell carcinoma of the skin in the aged.

Multiple or recurrent squamous cell skin carcinoma is a rare tumor in the aged. These patients are currently treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) cream as a local chemotherapy; in cases in which the disease progresses, few treatments are available. Two reports deal with the treatment of progressive squamous cell skin carcinoma with systemic 5-FU, but in only eight patients age less than 70 years.

Postoperative adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer: analysis of acute and chronic toxicity.

Aims And Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate acute and chronic toxicity of combined postoperative standard radiation therapy to the pelvis and 5-fluorouracil plus levamisole in resectable rectal cancer.

Methods: Between July 1990 and September 1993, 58 patients with histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the rectum entered the prospective study. The schedule consisted of 5-fluorouracil, 450 mg/m2 i.