The search for a melanoma-tailored chemotherapy in the new era of personalized therapy: a phase II study of chemo-modulating temozolomide followed by fotemustine and a cooperative study of GOIM (Gruppo Oncologico Italia Meridionale).

Background: It is frequently asked whether chemotherapy can still play a role in metastatic melanoma considering the effectiveness of the available drugs today, including antiCTLA4/antiPD1 immunotherapy and antiBRAF/antiMEK inhibitors. However, only approximately half of patients respond to these drugs, and the majority progress after 6-11 months. Therefore, a need for other therapeutic options is still very much apparent.

A voluminous mass as an initial clinical symptom of multiple myeloma: A case report.

Extramedullary multiple myeloma (EMM) is a type of multiple myeloma (MM) that is defined by the presence of extraskeletal (soft tissue or visceral) clonal plasma cell infiltrates, which may be present at the time of initial diagnosis or at the time of relapse. Although extramedullary lesions may be present with other clinical features at the time of diagnosis, the onset of a solid formation as a first clinical symptom of MM is unusual. The present study reports the case of a 77-year-old male who was admitted to the Hematology Unit of the National Cancer Research Center, Istituto Tumori 'Giovanni Paolo II' (Bari, Italy) with a mass protruding from the right side of his lower back.

Long-term response of gemcitabine plus docetaxel chemotherapy regimen for extraskeletal osteosarcoma: A case report.

Extraskeletal osteosarcomas (EOSs) are rare variants of primary osteosarcoma of the bone, and are defined as sarcomas located in the soft tissues and characterized by osteoid production. EOS exhibits distinctive demographic, imaging and prognostic features compared with osteosarcoma of bone origin. The available data are contradictory with regard to the use of chemotherapy regimens in the management of EOS.

Rapid tumor shrinkage with lapatinib plus capecitabine in a patient with massive liver involvement.

We present the case of a 58-year-old woman with breast cancer metastasizing to the liver after adjuvant chemotherapy. A liver biopsy confirmed metastatic lesions from breast cancer that were immunohistochemically positive for estrogen/progesterone receptors and HER2. After first-line treatment with trastuzumab and vinorelbine, the patient commenced therapy with capecitabine (1000 mg/m2 twice daily, days 1-14) and lapatinib (1250 mg/day).

Mediastinal mass following successful chemotherapy for ovary dysgerminoma: benign process or disease relapse? A case report.

Background: Ovarian dysgerminoma is a rare tumor that affects adolescent girls and young women. Due to its high radio-chemosensitivity, prognosis is normally excellent. Relapses occur in less than 20% of early stage disease, but are more frequent in advanced disease.

Single-step therapy -- feasibility and safety of simultaneous transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation for hepatic malignancies.

Background: Radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) has been demonstrated to be useful for the treatment of liver neoplasms. The study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and RFA, performed simultaneously to treat primary and secondary liver neoplasms.

Patients And Methods: From July 2006 to October 2007, 34 patients (21 with HCC and 13 with liver metastases) underwent 37 sessions of treatment.

[Evaluation of myopia in a group of people working with video terminals: first results].

Unlabelled: Since the 70's the occupational use of electronic systems equipped with visual display terminals (VDTs) became wide-spread also in Italy. Some longitudinal studies on large samples of VDT workers found no significant changes of myopia (M) with regard to years and daily hours spent working at a VDT.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and the time course of M in 209 VDT workers employed in the service sector.

Phase III randomized trial of FOLFIRI versus FOLFOX4 in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer: a multicenter study of the Gruppo Oncologico Dell'Italia Meridionale.

Purpose: We performed this phase III study to compare the irinotecan, leucovorin (LV), and fluorouracil (FU) regimen (FOLFIRI) versus the oxaliplatin, LV, and FU regimen (FOLFOX4) in previously untreated patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: A total of 360 chemotherapy-naive patients were randomly assigned to receive, every 2 weeks, either arm A (FOLFIRI: irinotecan 180 mg/m(2) on day 1 with LV 100 mg/m(2) administered as a 2-hour infusion before FU 400 mg/m(2) administered as an intravenous bolus injection, and FU 600 mg/m(2) as a 22-hour infusion immediately after FU bolus injection on days 1 and 2 [LV5FU2]) or arm B (FOLFOX4: oxaliplatin 85 mg/m(2) on day 1 with LV5FU2 regimen).

Results: One hundred sixty-four and 172 patients were assessable in arm A and B, respectively.

Radiofrequency thermal ablation of 69 lung neoplasms.

Radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) is a new, minimally invasive technique offered in the treatment of various neoplasms. RFA produces ionic agitation within the area to be treated, resulting in the heating of neoplastic tissue using a radiofrequency generator. Well defined areas of coagulative necrosis are formed, thereby destroying the tumor.

Radiofrequency ablation of 40 lung neoplasms: preliminary results.

Objective: Radiofrequency thermal ablation is a minimally invasive treatment widely used for treatment of liver neoplasms and has also been tested on other types of tumor. Few studies have been published regarding the use of radiofrequency thermal ablation in the treatment of lung neoplasms. This study was performed to evaluate the technical feasibility, the safety, and the efficacy of lung radiofrequency thermal ablation.

Metastatic malignant melanoma of the gallbladder: a case report and review of the literature.

Both primary and metastatic melanoma of the gallbladder are rare. Involvement of the gallbladder occurs in about 15% of all gastrointestinal metastatic localizations in post-mortem case records. It is often difficult to differentiate primary from metastatic lesions on the basis of clinical, radiological and histopathological features.

Role of prognostic factors in the therapeutic strategy of primary gastric non Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Purpose: To evaluate retrospectively in 64 gastric non-Hodgkin lymphoma (G-NHL) patients the role of some prognostic factors in the therapeutic strategy of this disease.

Patients And Methods: Sixty-four primary G-NHL patients (39 males and 25 females; median age: 57 years) were retrospectively evaluated. Treatment consisted of surgery alone (S) in 7 patients, chemotherapy alone (CT) in 15, CT + radiotherapy (RT) in 2, S + RT in 2, S + CT in 19, S + CT + RT in 16.

Three cycles of ABDV plus extended field radiotherapy in patients with poor prognosis early-intermediate stage Hodgkin's disease.

The aim of the study was to verify the possibility of treating patients with poor prognosis early-intermediate Hodgkin's disease with a combined modality therapy consisting of three cycles of ABVD followed by extended field irradiation (EFRT). No patient had bulky mediastinum or had previously been administered chemo- or radiotherapy. At pathological restaging, 40/44 (91%) evaluable patients achieved complete responses (CR).

Iatrogenic pneumocephalus in a man with undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A case report.

A case of pneumocephalus in a 45-year-old male with undifferentiated rhinopharyngeal carcinoma is described. The patient was initially subjected to radiotherapy and then to transmaxillary resection and a second course of stereotactic radiotherapy for recurrent disease. Lastly, the patient was treated with chemotherapy because of local-regional disease progression.

Solitary plasmacytoma of bone and extramedullary plasmacytoma: two different nosological entities?

Background: The relationship between solitary plasmacytoma and multiple myeloma is still unclear, but they can be distinguished by their different clinical course. Indicators of disease activity and extension, and of a possible evolution to multiple myeloma, have not been identified as yet.

Methods: Two cases of solitary plasmacytoma are described: one of the mandible and one extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) of the rhinopharynx.

Tumor necrosis factor and soluble interleukin-2 receptor: two immunological biomarkers in female neoplasms.

In this study we have evaluated two new immunological parameters, soluble IL-2 receptor (s IL-2 R) and TNF, in 119 patients with female solid neoplasms (47 ovarian and 72 breast cancer). Our data demonstrate that both these markers have mean serum levels in cancer patients higher than in normal population, particularly in ovarian cases. Also the overall positivities were higher in ovarian (68%) than in breast cancer (51%).

Serum levels of TAG 72 and CA 15.3 in patients with gynaecological neoplasms.

In the present report we have evaluated two new serum tumour markers identified by monoclonal antibodies: TAG 72 and CA 15.3 in 62 patients with gynaecological carcinomas, in prevalence ovarian and 36 women with benign gynaecological diseases. Serum levels of both markers were determined using two immunoradiometric assays and the cut-off values were set at 5 U/mL for TAG 72 and at 40 U/mL for CA 15.

Prognostic factors in epithelial ovarian cancer.

In the present study the Authors have statistically evaluated the influence of the main prognostic factors in 160 women affected by epithelial ovarian cancer. They were sequentially observed at Oncologic Institute of Bari, Italy from december 1981 to december 1989. The prognostic factors (age, stage, grading, histological type, performance status and residual disease), have been evaluated through an actuarial analysis of survival and compared with those reported by many authors in literature.

Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum activity in bidimensionally measurable metastatic lesions of bladder carcinoma.

Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP) was administered i.v., at the dosage of 20 mg/m2 for 5 consecutive days and recycled every 3 weeks, to 11 patients with bidimensionally measurable metastatic lesions from bladder cancer previously untreated with antineoplastic drugs.